End Of The Magic Era

by Stayrr

The world that nurtured the civilization which reached the pinnacle of magic was on the verge of destruction. The last survivor transmigrated to the past, when the magic civilization started growing, as countless mages were still fumbling their ways through the thorny paths of magic knowledge. He, who came from the end of the magic era, aim to reach the pinnacle of magic.

10. 289

Read End of the Magic Era - Chapter 289 - Bloodline online free - Light Novel Full

Lin Yun didn't know how long he stayed in that darkness.

It might have been an instant, it might have been a hundred years.

"Badump, badump, badump…"

Ultimately, the familiar heartbeat echoed once again in Lin Yun's ears. Lin Yun subconsciously opened his eyes but only saw boundless flames. It looked as if the whole world was ignited. Amidst the flames, countless scenes flashed, shocking Lin Yun to his core.

That was the Draconic War.

Countless Dragons soared through the sky, covering it in a rainbow of colors. Numerous Dragon Breaths swept the earth, scorching it. The figures of the pure-blooded Elves could be seen everywhere, both above and below. Silver Moon Elves, Dark Night Elves, Blazing Sun Elves, and the Sacred Song Elves. The four Elven clans which mastered elements as well as archery, spearmanship and holy light, all fought to the death.

The sky was torn in half, the earth caved in. Lin Yun once again witnessed the horrors closely resembling what would happen 30,000 years in the future, mountains crumbling and seas boiling, the world ending.

The Chromatic Dragons decayed while the Elves turned to dust.

Everything was engulfed in flames, blood flowed, corpses were mangled. Even if Lin Yun knew this was but an illusion, he couldn't help being shocked by this fierce scene. Even the thick smell of blood assaulted his nose.

'Who is the enemy?' Lin Yun tried to rush through the flames to see the realm's enemy in this tragic war.

But…

There was no enemy.

There was no enemy from the beginning. The casualties of the pure-blooded Elves and Chromatic Dragons came from the void storms, comets, from the sinking earth, the torn sky and the flaring seas. It looked like their true enemy was this world destroying disaster.

In the end, everything became quiet.

The world gradually recovered its peace, the surviving Chromatic Dragons and pure-blooded Elves converged and silently mourned their fallen companions. They didn't say anything, they didn't move, but pain and sorrow wordlessly spread before a Three-Headed Golden Dragon let out a loud Dragon Roar. His roar was full of anger and unwillingness while still melodious and dignified. A God-like Sun Elf came out of the crowd, a staff in his hand, and chanted a very long incantation.

A Planar Path then opened.

The surviving Chromatic Dragons and pure-blooded Elves silently approached that Planar Path. None of them aware where it led to.

"This is…" Lin Yun was startled, this scene felt familiar.

But the scene remained immobile, disregarding Lin Yun's attempts to see where that Planar Path led.

"Fuck!" Lin Yun swore. The scene that appeared within the flames carried too much importance to him. Lin Yun even felt that many of the unanswered questions in his mind would be solved as long as he kept watching.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get closer, the scene was locked on that location.

Lin Yun simply couldn't accept such a result.

Right at this time, an earth-shattering Dragon Roar echoed in Lin Yun's ears. Lin Yun raised his head with a mix of shock and hope. A black shadow flew across the sky. That was a huge Black Dragon covered in flames whose body spanned over several kilometers. His head, body, and wings were spreading flames in the sky.

Lin Yun held his breath.

That was the ruler of the Black Dragons, an existence comparable to the Three-Headed Golden Dragon, a powerhouse that could contend against a God, the Shadow Dragon!

When the Shadow Dragon flashed through the sky, he turned his head to look at Lin Yun. It was followed by an earth-shattering Dragon Roar, and by the time Lin Yun recovered, the Shadow Dragon's silhouette had already disappeared.

But Lin Yun was completely frozen.

Because Lin Yun very clearly heard the few Ancient Draconic sentences mixed within that Dragon Roar.

In the current Noscent, very few people would dare say that they understood Ancient Draconic. That was a language used by the Ancient Dragons of the Gold Era. Even in the Nesser Dynasty established by the Dragons and Elves, there would rarely be a Dragon that used Ancient Draconic to communicate.

Only those Ancient Dragons who experienced both the Gold and Silver Eras and whose lives were unimaginably long would use Ancient Draconic, and only accidentally or under specific circumstances.

Lin Yun knew about it because some mages at the peak of the magic era believed that the Ancient Draconic and Ancient Elven contained some mysterious power. They crazily researched these two extinct languages. After excavating many temples and ruins, overturning almost all of the Nesser Era once, they spent a few hundred years to sort what they found and assembled what they thought to be a rough book of Ancient Draconic words.

Unfortunately, they were both right and wrong. That set of Ancient Draconic words didn't actually hold any mysterious power, in fact, it was ridiculed by all Dragons. They said that this was completely different from the Ancient Draconic they inherited from their bloodline. Over time, mages put this specious Ancient Draconic to the back of their mind and went on to study other ancient languages. The research on Ancient Draconic serving only as a teaching material or a reference in studies of other languages from that point on.

When Lin Yun read that book, it had only been to study some language grammar composition, it was purely used as a leisure read.

He never expected it to be actually useful, he surprisingly managed to pick up a few of the words in those sentences…

"Unexpectedly… Saw… Descendant… Ancient War… Fragment… Balakra…"

Although it was only some scattered fragments, Lin Yun firmly engraved those keywords in his mind, especially that final one, "Balakra". Lin Yun felt that this might be a powerful True Name. As for who the owner of that True Name was, it would have to wait until Lin Yun returned and did some research.

With the Shadow Dragon sweeping through the sky, the surrounding's flames started dissipating.

His surroundings changed again and Lin Yun regained consciousness. Before his eyes stood that throbbing Black Dragon Heart. The drop of blood he had dripped on it was slowly soaking into the heart. William was still standing still not far from him, his expression unchanged.

Lin Yun realized that his previous experience might have been very long to him, but it might have only lasted a few seconds in reality.

Nothing seemed to have changed.

No…

'What is this!' Lin Yun was just about to walk down the altar when he suddenly noticed a trace of blood not of his own within his body.

That drop of blood was incredibly hot and carried a thick smell of sulfur. Lin Yun felt a sharp pain and realized that this berserk and flaming aura definitely came from a Destruction Black Dragon.

'Could it be that the Merlin Family Bloodline Ceremony was actually trading a drop of their blood for a drop of Destruction Black Dragon's Blood?'

'But if that is the case…'

'Wouldn't the Merlin Family's bloodline be the bloodline of a Destruction Black Dragon?'

This discovery toppled Lin Yun's knowledge.

Unfortunately, Lin Yun didn't have much time to think. After merging with his body, that drop of Black Dragon Blood burst with terrifying energy. Suddenly, Lin Yun seemed to hear a loud sound, immediately followed by that drop of Black Dragon Blood crazily swallowing everything. It instantly expanded like a snowball rolling in the snow and started flowing through Lin Yun's veins like burning lava. At the same time, a slumbering power seemed to be awakening in response to that Dragon Blood.

Lin Yun understood that this was the real bloodline ceremony.

Using the blood of a Destruction Black Dragon to awaken the bloodline slumbering within the Merlins.

'No wonder, the Merlin Family's bloodline is quite remarkable…'

Mafa's bloodline was too thin and Lin Yun gave up after studying it a bit. But now, this drop of Dragon Blood was awakening another kind of bloodline. Lin Yun finally realized that the Merlin Family might possess a top class bloodline.

Only a top class bloodline would need the blood of a Destruction Black Dragon to awaken it.

Lin Yun already made some conjectures.

He already theorized that in the Draconic War, the ancestor of the Merlin Family withstood the Destruction Black Dragon Clan, along with the Dark Sage.

Now, it could be assumed that the relation between Merlin Family Ancestor, the Dark Sage and the Destruction Black Dragon Clan might not necessarily be that of allies and enemies.

Unfortunately, Lin Yun didn't have much time to think about it now. That bloodline was on the verge of awakening.

It would have been a lot better if Lin Yun had been the true Mafa Merlin.

Mafa Merlin would completely transform if he let that bloodline awaken, whether it was potential or power, he would reach a very shocking stage.

But unfortunately, Lin Yun wasn't Mafa Merlin.

Lin Yun came from 30,000 years in the future and had magic knowledge transcending the era, he had ten Magic Arrays and already walked a magic path others never dreamt of. How could he be willing to be restricted by his bloodline?

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It didn't matter how outstanding that bloodline was.

That bloodline might have been a dream come true for the former Mafa Merlin, or even to the whole Merlin Family.

But it was a restriction to Lin Yun. No outstanding bloodline could give Lin Yun what he wanted!

Thus, as that drop of Destruction Black Dragon Blood merged with his body and that slumbering bloodline started awakening, Lin Yun's Magic Arrays started crazily revolving, and before that slumbering bloodline completely awakened, he pulled the Destruction Black Dragon Blood towards his Magic Arrays.

Lin Yun's face became deathly pale.

The berserk and flaming power contained within the Black Dragon Blood flowed like magma in the Magic Arrays and instantly launched a terrifying attack on the Magic Arrays.

This pain was something ordinary people couldn't imagine.

To Lin Yun, the Magic Arrays weren't just Magic Arrays, they also formed Lin Yun's second heart. The first heart supplied his body with blood while the second heart supplied mana. Now, the second heart came in contact with that drop of blazing Dragon Blood, the power contained within was like a poison to the Magic Arrays. Over a thousand runes immediately scattered when that blood came in contact with the Magic Arrays. Lin Yun had to spend a lot of time and energy to merge these runes with the Magic Arrays, but now, that time and energy turned into nothing from that first clash.

And this all happened in a split second.

Lin Yun knew that it was a critical time. If he couldn't suppress this drop of Dragon Blood, then not only would that top class bloodline awaken, even the Magic Arrays within his body would completely collapse.

Lin Yun resisted that terrible pain and went all-out in his control over his Magic Arrays to re-merge with the runes that had been scattered before, but at the same time, more runes were dissipating under the assaults of the Black Dragon Blood. Lin Yun kept pouring mana in, continuously repeating the same task, but the Magic Arrays were never completely intact. Lin Yun knew that this was the conflict of bloodline and mana. Assimilating any top class bloodline would have a price.

Seconds slowly passed…

Lin Yun's pale face was already covered with beads of sweat.

He tightly clenched his fists, his nails already deeply piercing his flesh because he used too much force, blood slowly flowed down his fists before dripping down on the altar.

William looked extremely anxious on the side.

This was the first time William saw his younger cousin in such pain. After all, he has only ended up dusting his robe after fighting an Archmage, he had only been slightly pale after leading everyone through that dead plane and escaping that void cemetery.

William's impression of Mafa was that of someone calm and indifferent always planning in advance. William couldn't even think of a time his cousin lost self-control.

But now, William could clearly see that this cousin who never lost control of his emotions was now displaying an incomparably painful expression on the altar.

'What can I do? What can I do…'

The more William watched, the more anxious he became. He didn't dare to go over and could only pace around, agitated.

'It shouldn't be…' William couldn't understand, how could a simple bloodline ceremony end up like this?

The Merlin Family's bloodline ceremony was a millennium old tradition, as far as William knew, Leon, Aube, and Ross all went through that bloodline ceremony. He never heard of someone being in such pain during the bloodline ceremony.

'What is going on…'

Suddenly, a shocking burst of mana fluctuations created gales in the temple, and even those raging flames seemed to be wavering under those gusts of wind.

'What?' William was immediately frightened. He rubbed his eyes before checking the altar.

Then…

William saw an endless amount of runes ascending like a huge vortex, transforming into a rainbow-colored tornado. This kept going for ten minutes before it returned back into Lin Yun's body.

'This is…' William was stunned when he saw that scene.

'This was the Magic Conducting Runes fusing together as one! The sign of the advancement to the High Mage realm!'

'But, wasn't Cousin Mafa already a High Mage?'

'How could he be fusing his Magic Conducting Runes now…'

'Could it be… Cousin Mafa didn't really fuse the Magic Conducting Runes as one when he became a High Mage?'

'This…'

'This is too terrifying.'

William was a High Mage himself, how could he not know how terrifying the increase of power from advancing to High Mage was?

'Cousin Mafa was frightening enough before, what kind of abnormal strength will he have now that his Magic Conducting Runes fused?'

'Moreover, that advancement lasted quite a long time…'

William only took ten seconds when he fused his nine Magic Conducting Runes.

It was said that Ross took a whole minute when he fused his nine Endless Springs…

What did ten minutes mean…

William could only feel numb as he thought of it.

"What is it?" Lin Yun had thoroughly fused his Magic Conducting Runes and walked down the altar. He couldn't help asking this question with a smile while looking at the dumbstruck William.

"No… Nothing." William subconsciously shook his head while being unable to resist stealthily glancing at that young High Mage.

He looked no different from usual, he still had a calm expression and still felt totally in control, there was also the usual smile on his face, but for some reason, William always felt that the one standing in front of him wasn't a regular Human, but a mountain that could never be crossed.

"Err, Cousin, did… Did you complete you bloodline ceremony?"

"It should be considered completed…" Lin Yun smiled but didn't explain. He only took the lead and left the spacious temple.

'What do you mean it should be considered completed…' William followed behind, inwardly mumbling.

'Completed is completed, not completed is not completed. How could there be something such as "Considered completed"?'

William would never have expected that even Lin Yun didn't know whether he had actually completed the bloodline ceremony or not.

Earlier, Lin Yun exhausted almost all his power to suppress that drop of Black Dragon Blood and used that opportunity to fuse the ten Magic Arrays into one, becoming a true High Mage.

From this point of view, Lin Yun truly succeeded.

But the strange part was that this drop of Black Dragon Blood didn't continue wreaking havoc, nor did it disappear, it actually fused with the Magic Array.

The Magic Array was in a very strange state, let alone Enderfa who was leeching a home from him, now there was also a drop of Destruction Black Dragon Blood within him. Even Lin Yun wasn't sure what kind of state the Magic Array was in.

He would have to wait for the completion of the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel before thinking about it.

After all, the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel would allow Enderfa to move to a proper home, at that time, Lin Yun would be able to study the situation with that drop of Black Dragon Blood.

It was already evening by the time the two left the Ancestral Land. They followed the rugged mountain path back as the sun set and once again crossed the dense fog before reaching the Fallen Star Lake.

None of them knew that two dozen powerhouses, at the Archmage realm or higher, were gathered in one of the Guardian Towers. They were sitting around a long table, and the one sitting at the head even emitted an Extraordinary Aura.

"Sir Balakra already spoke, he wants us to find who is the descendant who underwent the bloodline ceremony today, no matter the cost…"

"Impossible! Didn't Sir Balakra not say anything for a few hundred years? Last time he spoke was for that Santon monster. Right, where is that Santon now? Wouldn't that be two hundred years since he roamed the depths of the Ancestral Land?"

"Who knows, last time someone saw Santon was in the Blood Moon Plane, who knows what he is looking for…"

"Ah? Wasn't it the Shadow Plane? How did it become the Blood Moon Plane? Shit, is that lunatic Santon thinking of dealing with those Vampires?"

"That's hard to say, everyone knows that Santon's brain isn't quite normal…"

"Alright, everyone quiet…" The old man emitting an Extraordinary aura had been keeping his eyes closed to recuperate. When the others started going off-track, he coughed to remind them of the current matter, "We are talking about the young mage from today. I trust everyone felt the mana fluctuations, they clearly didn't come from an ordinary High Mage…"

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Chapter 291: New Magic Array

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun, who had already left, definitely wouldn't know that his bloodline ceremony would give rise to a heated discussion within a Guardian Tower.

He had already returned to the Merlin Family Manor and locked himself in his room for a few days to adapt to the new form of the Magic Array.

The Magic Array had taken on a new shape after the ten Magic Arrays fused into one. The ten previous Magic Arrays were like ten roulette wheels that would slowly rotate when provided with mana. Although in the past they could carry out their tasks almost perfectly under Lin Yun's control, their independent operations had to be connected by Lin Yun himself, so there would always be a minute gap between each of them.

But it was different now…

The ten Magic Arrays had fused together without any gaps remaining. Although there was no change in how they worked, the efficiency had been raised at least ten times, and there was no longer any need for Lin Yun to split his attention to control it. As long as he kept mana pouring through it, it would automatically revolve within Lin Yun's body.

In the past two days, Lin Yun used his new Magic Array to analyze the mysterious characters within the Book of Death and pleasantly found that the efficiency was now completely different compared to before. The work of ten days was done in one, while the consumption was greatly lowered. He only needed to meditate to recover his mana now, while in the past, he'd had to replenish mana via mana crystals to be able to cope with the consumption.

As for the merging of spells and metamagics, it reached next step. Lin Yun already started merging 3rd Tier Spells with metamagics, and perhaps by the time Lin Yun broke through to become a 5th Rank High Mage, he would try merging a core spell such as Elemental Incarnation with core metamagics such as Instant Cast and Empower Spell.

Lin Yun remained in his room focused on the Magic Array for a few days, and during that time, even William didn't dare to disturb him.

Ross actually came several times, but was stopped at the door by William's cold face.

It was the same today…

"Ross, I already told you that Cousin Mafa is doing something very important, yet you are coming here to nag. Don't blame me for being rude to you." William was truly angry. 'We are both High Mages and you also lost to me, if I say you aren't welcomed here, it means you aren't welcomed here!'

William couldn't help thanking his younger cousin in his heart every time he recalled that battle.

How could he have a chance to frown and tell Ross to piss off if he hadn't gone to Thousand Sails City?

He had only been a member of the younger generation with second-tier strength. A 5th Rank Great Mage who was also a Great Alchemist sounded very formidable, but he wasn't particularly eye-catching among the numerous geniuses of the Merlin Family. He'd ranked between 5th and 8th in the younger generation, which was a whole different level compared to Leon, Aube, and Ross, those top three.

At the time, William truly thought that he could only look up at them in the future.

But he hadn't expected that the mission that he had viewed as a sort of exile would send him to see a cousin he had never met who would completely change his life. This felt like coming into contact with a whole new world.

That cousin he had never met before was simply a monster, one that had reached a level that could only be described as unbelievable whether it was in alchemy or in the path of magic. There were quite many times where he only needed to point out something to give William a flash of insight. In contrast, those teachers that he had studied under in the past could only be described as unworthy. Sometimes, William even thought of making those teachers come to Thousand Sails City to learn under his younger cousin for a few years so that they would stop hampering the progress of their students.

From 5th Rank Great Mage to High Mage, William only needed half a year. Others might take dozens of years to do the same thing, and after returning to Okland, William suddenly discovered that Ross, whose back he had been chasing, wasn't that far ahead anymore. He even beat him with Mafa's pointers.

"I really have something important to discuss…" Ross looked at William with an extremely complicated expression. William had been someone worthless to him not that long ago. Who would have thought that such a worthless person could now talk to him as an equal and even defeat him?

"Forget it, Ross, let me tell you the truth. Cousin Mafa is doing something extremely important and cannot be disturbed by anyone. If you have something that important, you can tell me first. Once Cousin Mafa is done with his matter, I'll convey your message."

"This…" Ross watched William for a while before admitting that William didn't seem to be lying.

He seemed somewhat embarrassed…

Ross had been looking into Stan Watson's death since the previous day.

Because of this, he even paid a visit to the Red Dragon Mercenary Group and personally looked for Anna Achilles to ask for some details.

The Red Dragon Mercenary Group had been awfully busy because of the chaos caused by Stan Watson's death. In order to appease the Watson Family, the leader had no choice but to personally apologize and severely punish the commander of that mission, Anna, demoting her from being 1st vice leader to the position of captain. She went from being highly ranked, only under one person, to only being able to lead ten weak mercenaries.

As for that fight in the Aurij Mountains, all information about it was sealed off. Even within the Red Dragon Mercenary Group, only a few high ranked mercenaries knew about it.

Fortunately for Ross, he had had some dealings with them in the past and even helped them accidentally once. This time, he personally went to look for the Red Dragon Mercenary Group's leader. Although the other side was unwilling, he couldn't refuse. And when Ross suggested using the Merlin Family to put some pressure on the Watson Family to stop them from going too far when looking into the death of Stan Watson, the leader sighed in relief.

In the end, the leader of the Red Dragon Mercenaries summoned Anna before leaving the room.

Anna's expression wasn't very good. This famous Expert Swordswoman seemed to be experiencing nightmares, and she looked frightened. She was more or less okay when confronting Ross, but when he started to inquire about the battle, Anna became deathly pale.

Her memories were even more chaotic. Ross spent a lot of time asking before he managed to get some of the murderer's characteristics from Anna.

A young mage in his early twenties, rather thin and pale, wearing a lazy smile. He looked as if he would hate to step on an ant, but once he made a move, he was like a vicious predator hunting his prey.

The murderer wore a black robe with silver lines on the cuffs, the sign of a Great Mage. But the strength he displayed was far higher than what a Great Mage could imagine. The magic staff he held had a fist-sized Elemental Amber embedded at the top, which should have been the only valuable weapon of the murderer.

That description puzzled Ross Merlin.

First was the age…

As a famous figure of the younger generation, how could Ross not know about the twenty-year-old geniuses? Ross dared to bet that Okland didn't have a genius Great Mage in his early twenties that could pull off the feat of killing Stan Watson under the protection of the Red Dragon Mercenaries. That would have required the strength of an Archmage.

An Archmage in his twenties, how crazy was that?

And even if there were such a person…

Ross couldn't find him…

Twenty years old, pale and thin, wearing a black robe. That was too vague, there were many such people in Okland. The only clue was the magic staff with an Elemental Amber.

After inquiring, Ross left the Red Dragon Mercenary Group feeling disappointed.

But he received a surprising bit of news after returning to the Merlin Family, that Mafa who came from Thousand Sails City had already gained permission from the patriarch to enter the Ancestral Land.

This information made Ross suspicious.

After all, the Elder Council had been arguing over this for quite a while. As a member of the Elder Council, how could Ross not know about this? How could that Mafa suddenly obtain the authorization to enter the Ancestral Land?

Ross clearly knew Patriarch Ofran's character, he was steadfast and wouldn't just push his own agenda. He had been bound by the Elder Council for many years, but he wasn't the type to fall out with them for a mere Great Mage like Mafa Merlin.

Unless…

Unless that Mafa Merlin made a huge contribution that would make Ofran have no other choice but to allow him to enter the Ancestral Land.

But what would that huge contribution be?

Ross spent an entire night in his room considering it.

He only had a flash of insight later… 'Isn't weakening a hostile family a huge contribution? If killing the most outstanding genius a hostile family has nurtured after hundreds of years isn't a huge contribution, then what is?'

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Thus, Ross personally went to visit Ofran at dawn.

At that time, Ofran finally confirmed his conjecture.

The person that killed Stan Watson was sent by Mafa.

In other words, the thing he wanted was most likely in Mafa's hands.

Ross didn't tarry after getting his answer and rushed over, but he was stopped by William outside the door, and for a few days, too. Ross couldn't do anything, because William wasn't the same William anymore. Although he couldn't completely pressure him, Ross still didn't have confidence.

But he would never get what he wanted if he didn't ask.

That thing was too important to Ross. No matter the price, Ross had to get it.

All Ross could do now was to come here every morning at dawn, hoping to meet Mafa.

He was sure that it would be a lot simpler if William wouldn't block his way, as he would be able to raise his conditions and try to negotiate.

Even if Mafa was the owner of the Gilded Rose and had vast wealth in Thousand Sails City, that city was only a small place in the east of the kingdom. There were many things that couldn't be bought in Thousand Sails City even if one had money…

Such as all kinds of rare magic materials, or formidable magic items, or even advanced alchemy techniques and profound knowledge.

Ross had a lot of techniques and knowledge in his hands, which had been accumulated through many years of going on expeditions to various planes. Those things wouldn't be easy to get, even with Mafa's wealth.

Using those, he could happily deal with Mafa.

The issue was how to circumvent William.

"Oh, Cousin, you are finally out!" As Ross was secretly planning, William suddenly turned and said this with a pleasantly surprised expression and a polite smile.

'It looks like this Mafa's wealth is more shocking than I thought…" Ross saw this and couldn't help sighing. 'William's strength already reached mine, that of a peak existence in the younger generation, yet, when facing the boss of the Gilded Rose, he still remains so polite and curries favor. He must have gotten many benefits from him.'

"Yes." Lin Yun nodded. After spending a few days, he finally adapted to his new Magic Array. He was about to test it in order to get some data, but he suddenly remembered that it was the day of the Black Horn Auction, so he cleaned himself up and left the room.

"How is it? Did you make any progress in the past few days?" William was naturally asking about his younger cousin's Magic Conducting Rune.

After all, William had personally seen his younger cousin's circumstances when he reached the High Mage realm, he'd seen the process of Mafa fusing his Magic Conducting Runes. William was extremely curious. He wanted to know what level his terrifying cousin had reached.

"Made some improvements." Lin Yun didn't want to talk about this now and only nodded. "Isn't today the day of the Black Horn Auction?"

"Eh? The Black Horn Auction…" Those simple words suddenly made William smile bitterly. "I'm afraid there isn't enough time. The Black Horn Auction starts at ten and it's already nine, even if we rush from here, I'm not sure we can make it fast enough to gain entry on time…"

"It's fine, let's rush over first." Before leaving for Okland, Cadgar had gone to the Gilded Rose to look for him and had told him to visit him at the Black Horn chamber of commerce at all cost. He gave Lin Yun a ring and told him that as long as he had that ring, he would be able to enter any Black Horn Auctions without anyone blocking his path.

"Alright then, let's hurry…"

The two were about to depart when Ross interjected, "Mafa, Cousin Mafa, please wait a moment…"

"You are?" Lin Yun was originally in a hurry when that person suddenly called out to him, leaving him in a bad mood. He looked at Ross with some annoyance.

"He is Ross Merlin, you met him a few days ago," William promptly explained when he saw this situation. He also glanced at Ross while thinking, 'I've been too good to you, saving your life every day…'

"Oh." Lin Yun nodded to acknowledge him. "I am now in a hurry to go to the Black Horn Auction, can your matter wait until I return?"

"No, hold on!" Ross had been waiting for quite a few days before finally meeting Mafa Merlin himself, so how could he let him leave like that? Seeing the other begin turning to the side to leave, Ross raised his magic staff in a moment of desperation to forcibly stop them.

There was nothing wrong with Ross' action.

After all, Lin Yun had already gained some distance, and his hand wouldn't be able to block his path, but his long staff could!

But that movement terrified William. "Ross Merlin! What do you think you are doing!"

This was no joke…

William clearly knew what taboo had to be avoided at all costs in front of this younger cousin.

Pointing a magic staff at him!

'Are you looking to die? You actually took out a weapon in front of him…'

"Ross Merlin! I'll say this once. Leave this place immediately, this is your last warning. Otherwise, I won't mind teaching you another lesson. But this time, I won't stop at just cutting your robe with a Wind Blade!" William's expression was extremely severe, and the mana fluctuations emitted from his body indicated that he was ready for a fight.

He didn't really have any choice… William could only do this.

If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to guarantee that Ross would leave this place alive if Mafa didn't react well.

Unfortunately, Ross didn't know about William's good intentions. After extending his magic staff to block Lin Yun's path, he said, "Cousin Mafa, I am sincere and I only want to discuss a transaction with you. I dare to guarantee that you'll be interested in my conditions. I can give you magic knowledge on the level of High Mages and Archmages, and even some Great Alchemist level alchemy techniques. I can even act for your Gilded Rose three times. All I want is the map left behind by Stan Watson."

After saying that, Ross motionlessly looked at Lin Yun, waiting for him to nod in agreement.

Ross was certain that he would do so.

The conditions he offered were perfect. Ross believed that Mafa would never refuse as long as he was smart enough.

The magic knowledge, alchemy techniques, and even his own favors, just for a map left behind by Stan Watson. Who would refuse?

But…

Lin Yun refused.

"Not interested."

After saying that, Lin Yun pushed the magic staff to the side and led William to leave.

"Mafa… Cousin Mafa, wait…" Ross hadn't considered that the generous conditions he'd raised might actually be refused. He was stunned there for a dozen seconds before managing to react.

But Lin Yun and William were already too far away… Ross didn't have the opportunity to persuade him.

'Right, the Black Horn Auction…' After being annoyed for a while, Ross' attention turned to the Black Horn Auction that they had discussed. 'Alright then, I can only follow them to the Black Horn Auction and see. I can only keep trying to persuade him to come to an agreement then…

'But what if it doesn't work?'

Ross was no longer as confident as before about this transaction.

'If it really doesn't work…' Ross ground his teeth. 'If it really doesn't work, the only option left is to fight for it. That's the only way. I have to take advantage of the absence of that young Archmage to snatch the map from Mafa. As for what happens afterward…

'I would have to find a way to compensate him.'

That map was too important to Ross, but it was a wasted piece of paper to others. At worst, he would have to give many things to Mafa Merlin, such as using his own force to suppress Aube. Everyone knew that Aube was eyeing the wealth of the Gilded Rose. Him doing that would be considered a great help to his cousin from Thousand Sails City, right?

Ross no longer hesitated and followed the two out of the Merlin Manor.

Lin Yun and William were already on the road.

"Oh, Cousin William, the map Ross was talking about, do you know of its circumstances?" Lin Yun had been thinking about it on the way.

After killing Stan Watson in the Aurij Mountains, he did obtain a map, but at the time, Lin Yun had only glanced at it superficially and noticed that it led to Gaugass. To be more precise, it led to mountains that Lin Yun didn't dare to set foot in.

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Chapter 293: Auction

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

How could Lin Yun not know that this was one of the most dangerous areas of Noscent? Even Heaven Mages couldn't escape unscathed. So why were High Mages like Ross Merlin and Stan Watson thinking of going there?

'Are they tired of living? Or is there another reason?'

Lin Yun couldn't help becoming a bit interested as he thought of that, because he recalled that in that future disaster, the famous Flame Ruler managed to come out unscathed. 'Is this related to that?'

As Lin Yun thought about these issues, the carriage they were riding reached the bustling Dragon Street.

This was the core of Okland, the most populated and crowded area. The Black Horn chamber of commerce, the Mercenary Guild, and many other forces converged there. This street was so huge that it could hold a few dozen carriages side by side. The street was filled with people and carriages, and in the middle stood a building that was ten floors tall. The Black Horn chamber of commerce was situated there, and right now, several dozen carriages were parked outside of it. Most of the carriages were emblazoned with crests, only a few of which Lin Yun actually recognized, but William gave out some introductions that made even Lin Yun gasp. A few of these forces were extremely famous.

"It looks like it's too late…" William noticed the gates of the auction house being closed, with a dozen guards standing in front blocking the way. Okland's Black Horn Auction was like this; before the auction started, anyone could enter, provided they had a crystal card from the Black Horn chamber of commerce. But once the auction started, guests wouldn't be allowed in unless they had a high-status VIP card.

But only the upper echelons of Okland held such VIP cards. Let alone William, even the outstanding Ross or Aube, or going further, even the genius Stan Watson didn't hold such a VIP card.

Someone like Lin Yun, who came from Thousand Sails City, would definitely not have such a card.

"Forget it, let me talk to the guards and see if they can be flexible for us…" William thought for a while, but couldn't come up with any other solution, so he immediately strode off.

"You-" Lin Yun was about to tell William that he had a ring from Cadgar that should let them move through the Black Horn chamber of commerce unimpeded…

But William was too fast. Before Lin Yun could say anything, William had already approached them, so Lin Yun could only sigh.

After all, William wasn't one of the more famous members of the Merlin Family, and he had left for Thousand Sails City for six months. He was bound to have been forgotten by many.

Such as the auction's guards…

Lin Yun saw William wasting his time over there, smiling and talking for a while, only to be met with a poker face. Needless to say, he had been rejected.

Sure enough, not long after, William came back while cursing.

"Shit, these bastards are blind. He said that he could recognize all the Merlins, yet he doesn't recognize me. Am I blurry today?"

"…" Lin Yun felt amused by this. William's temper was very interesting… He could become so pissed because of a mere guard, no wonder he spent his days fighting with Faleau.

"Cousin, you should wait here. I'll go fetch my father and use his VIP card. It's unbelievable, I left Okland for half a year and I can't even enter an auction…"

Rage filled William's face. He said these words while climbing on the carriage, apparently planning to quickly fetch the VIP card.

"It's fine, there is no need to go that far." Lin Yun smiled as he beckoned. He was about to call out to the leader of the guards…

But he was interrupted by boisterous laughter coming from behind.

"Hahahaha, William Merlin, this is quite interesting. The auction has already started, yet you still stand outside. Do you like the scenery of Dragon Street?" A tall young man in his late twenties drew near. He wore flashy silver knight armor and carried a longsword sheath decorated with jewelry at his waist. He looked to be the kind of guy that would deceive ignorant girls. As he spoke, only sharp words came out of his mouth. "Well, well, William, what do you plan to do from the street… Could it be? You were stopped at the door? Hahaha, I haven't seen you for years, but it looks like you still don't have enough connections to get a VIP card of the Black Horn chamber of commerce. You are truly a stain to your Merlin Family's reputation, hahaha…"

That person laughed at William while handing a crystal card to a guard.

Just as the guard took the crystal card, a respectful expression appeared on his face. He bowed to greet that young man before welcoming him in. When the angry William saw this, he almost burst out in anger. If not for Lin Yun pulling him back, William would have truly pounced on that man.

"Okay, calm down." Lin Yun appeased William before taking the ring Cadgar had given him from his pocket and handing it to the leader of the guards. "Can we go in with this?"

"Ah?" The guard leader took the ring and was surprised at first, before his face suddenly became filled with shock. He looked closely at Lin Yun for a long time before using a respectful tone to say, "Sir, can you wait a moment? I… I need to ask my superior…"

"Alright, go ahead."

"Thank you Sir, I'll return immediately." After saying that, the guard leader rushed inside under the suspicious gazes of his subordinates.

After walking a hundred meters, the guard paled. His heart was beating crazily fast because the ring in his hand was too important… It was too important for a mere guard leader like him. In fact, let alone a guard leader in charge of security, even those big shots of the Black Horn chamber of commerce wouldn't have the qualifications to touch this ring.

He only knew a bit about because he had coincidentally heard some people talking about it before.

Now, he had to quickly report this matter to his higher-ups. Whether that ring was genuine or not, this matter had to be handled by the higher-ups of the Black Horn chamber of commerce.

Two minutes later, the guard leader reached the auction hall and whispered a few words in the ears of a young man. The young man listened calmly at first, before his eyes widened and he instantly got up. "Shit, take me to him, quick!"

After saying this, he didn't wait for the guard's reaction and apologized to his guests before hurriedly leaving the auction hall.

"Just now, Salen of the Charlotte Family seemed to have been quite disagreeable to them…" As they walked over together, the guard leader recounted the brief interlude to the young man.

"That idiot, Salen…" The young man's eyes widened when he heard that. After cursing under his breath, he shook his head. "Forget it, we don't have much relations with that idiot. It should be fine as long as we take care of our own matters."

"Understood."

As the two rushed outside, the young man put on a warm smiled and walked straight towards Lin Yun. "Greetings, High Mage Merlin. Welcome to our Black Horn chamber of commerce. I am one of the people in charge of today's auction. You can call me Ritch. Nice to meet you, High Mage Merlin."

"Hello, Ritch." Lin Yun reached out his hand. "Well, I was thinking of participating in today's Black Horn Auction, would this make things difficult for all of you?"

"Naturally not, High Mage Merlin, you are a most welcome VIP. If there is anything you require, the Black Horn chamber of commerce will do its best to satisfy your needs. If you wish to participate, I'll immediately send someone to arrange the best private room…"

"There is no need to trouble yourself, I only want to take a look." Lin Yun shook his head. He had received the highest treatment in Thousand Sails City, and while it made some things easier, it also gave him some headaches.

Each time Cadgar arranged a private room, he would continue with the sentence: "I wonder if Master Alchemist Merlin wants to entrust something to the Black Horn Auction?"

Thus, Lin Yun had no choice but to bring out some good stuff to repay that favor, once, twice, thrice… In the end, Cadgar got many good things from Lin Yun.

Lin Yun had come to watch today. He hadn't decided whether he would buy something or not, so he promptly refused when that young man offered him the private room.

"Then I shall lead High Mage Merlin in…" The young man knew how to conduct himself, so he didn't insist after hearing Lin Yun's refusal. He was even more enthusiastic to lead Lin Yun inside.

The seat the young man arranged for Lin Yun was in the fifth row, next to five merchants. From William's introductions, they were rich merchants in Okland, but although they were wealthy, they didn't have high status. Those with high status were sitting in the private rooms on the upper floor.

After making arrangements for the two, the young man tactfully took his leave.

Firstly because he was worried that this important person wasn't willing to be disturbed, and secondly because he had to report today's matter to his superiors.

As a result, the young man barely got out of the auction hall when he bumped into the rushed Ross.

"Ross! You just arrived?" The young man had always had a very good relationship with Ross.

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Chapter 294: Discussion

Translator:Shiraishi

Editor:TheAlliance

"Ritch?" Ross was stunned when he saw that young man at the entrance of the auction hall. He couldn't help feeling suspicious, as that young man's identity was quite special. Ritch Holland's parents were both senior alchemists of the Black Horn chamber of commerce, and he had even studied under the famous Archmage of the Black Horn, Hulad. Although he was in his early twenties, he was still a 5th Rank High Mage. He was considered Hulad's successor.

The Merlin Family had many chances to cooperate with the Black Horn chamber of commerce. It was in one such cooperative venture that the two young geniuses got to know each other and formed a certain friendship. How could Ross not know of Ritch's identity? 'He would usually be inside presiding over the auction, so why is he at the door like a doorman?'

Seeing Ross's strange expression, Ritch immediately said, "Oh, I was just welcoming a VIP, I'm about to go over now. What? Suddenly want to participate in the auction?"

"You personally welcomed a VIP?" Hearing this, amazement appeared on Ross' face.

Ritch might even enter the core circle of the Black Horn chamber of commerce due to his status as the disciple of the famous Archmage Hulad… The honored guests that he would welcome wouldn't be ordinary...

"Yes, he is a very special VIP. I've been paying attention to this matter for almost a year…" Ritch didn't hide the truth, because although this was a secret, it was loosely guarded.

"No way…" Ross held his breath. The Black Horn chamber of commerce no ordinary power. It was considered a peak force in the entirety of Noscent.

The Cloud Tower, the Black Tower, and Okland Magic School were the three major forces of Okland only because their power was centralized here. In contrast, the Black Horn chamber of commerce was a truly frightening existence. Their power infiltrated every corner of Noscent, making their influence far greater than anyone could imagine.

Moreover, the Merlin Family and the Watson Family both believed that the Black Horn chamber of commerce was hiding its true strength and was far from being as simple as most people imagined.

"Nothing I can do about it, today's VIP is truly extraordinary. He is Master Alchemist that hasn't even turned 22…"

"A Master!" Ross' eyes widened. A Master Alchemist at 22 years… If nothing unexpected happened, he was bound to become an Artisan. In other words, Ritch had just welcomed a future Artisan!

"Indeed, Master Alchemist…" Ritch smiled, but it was a bitter smile. He was reviewing the information he had on this young High Mage. High Mage Merlin had been shrouded in a mysterious radiance. After all, they were more or less the same age. Ritch was only a few years older than him, yet the gap was unbreachable. It would be wrong to say that there was no envy or admiration in Ritch's heart.

But Ritch's strong point in the Black Horn chamber of commerce was that he could accept many unbelievable truths if the evidence pointed to it. He was already used to dealing with these seemingly impossible matters, so after bitterly smiling, he quickly recovered. "Moreover, it was said that this young Master Alchemist was only a Magic Apprentice a year ago who rose up overnight for some unknown reason and crushed all his opponents in a domineering way. I even heard that a month ago, that young Master Alchemist defeated an Archmage…"

"An Arc… Archmage!" Ross froze. A young Master Alchemist that also defeated an Archmage… How could this sound real? It felt like the main character of a fantasy novel, how could there be such an abnormal person?

In the past, Ross always felt that Stan Watson was already an abnormal one. He crushed all the young geniuses in Okland and became an 8th Rank High Mage before the age of thirty, making everyone despair. At that time, Ross even felt that he would never see someone as abnormal as Stan Watson again in his life.

But he hadn't expected that Ritch would talk about someone even more bizarre that was in his early twenties...

"Oh right, I forgot to say, that man defeated an Archmage when he was still a 9th Rank Great Mage, and has already advanced to the High Mage realm now…"

"..." Ross was frozen on the spot. He didn't know how he should react. A 9th Rank Great Mage defeating an Archmage truly sounded like a fantasy. For a while, Ross only stared at Ritch with a blank gaze, unable to hear or respond to anything.

"Ross, Ross…"

"Ah?" After Ritch called out to him, Ross woke up from his dream. He realized that he'd forgotten himself and awkwardly laughed. "Sorry, my mind wandered. Right, what did you say?"

"I said, how come you came to participate in the auction today? Didn't you always say that auctions were places where only foolish upstarts would squander money?"

"I…" Ross hesitated for a bit before pressing on. "I'm looking for someone, I want to discuss a transaction with him…"

"Oh?"

"It's simple, I have a distant younger cousin who is holding something that is very important to me, but is useless to him. I spoke to him at the Merlin Family Manor and offered to exchange him magic knowledge and alchemy techniques for it. I even offered to act for him three times. But for some reason, he refused such generous conditions…"

"Haha…" Ritch chuckled when he heard this, "This younger cousin of yours is quite interesting. Didn't you tell him who you were? Who in Okland doesn't know of all the planar expeditions you have been on in the past few years? I don't know how many people are envious and greedy. I'm very interested, I want to see what kind of expression your younger cousin will show later after learning what kind of opportunity he passed on."

"Hey, don't say that…" Ross was vexed enough to begin with. "This thing is very important to me, I absolutely must get it even if I have to spend a huge sum on it."

"Okay, okay, tell me your younger cousin's name and I'll help you search through the guest information. Once I put you in the same room, you can slowly discuss this…"

"Thanks Ritch, I'll definitely remember this favor." A grateful expression appeared on Ross' face. He clearly understood what this meant. Ritch was one of the people in charge of this auction, and helping him was overstepping his boundaries. This might even hinder his path in the Black Horn chamber of commerce in the future.

"It's okay, you can thank others, but we don't need these kinds of things between us. If it hadn't been for your help, I would have been in big trouble in the Raging Flame Plane. Alright, tell me your cousin's name ..."

"Mafa Merlin."

"Oh, Mafa Merlin…" Ritch nodded while noting it down. He was in the middle of writing that name when he noticed that this name seemed awfully familiar. "Mafa Merlin, Mafa Merlin…"

"What is it?" Ross was puzzled.

"Ma… Mafa Merlin…" Ritch was stunned as he looked at Ross, seeming a bit frightened. "Mafa Merlin… He wouldn't be from Thousand Sails City, right?"

"That's right, he came from Thousand Sails City and is the owner of Thousand Sails City's Gilded Rose… Why?"

"The distant cousin who is holding something very important to you and that you want to trade magic knowledge and alchemy techniques to… That's Mafa Merlin?" Ritch gulped as he said with difficulty.

"Yes… It's him…"

"..." Ritch's legs slightly shook. He watched Ross for a long time before putting down his quill and paper. "Hmm, Ross, does your cousin look young, perhaps in his early twenties? Is he wearing a black robe?"

"That should be him."

"... Have you ever sent for a background check?"

"Background check?" Ross was stunned by the odd question. "I did. I heard that his grandfather was Patriarch Ofran's older brother, Judd Merlin. For some reason, he had suddenly given up on everything and gone to Thousand Sails City. Later, his son was born there, Locke Merlin. I heard that this Locke Merlin was very amazing and established the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce in a dozen years, monopolizing Thousand Sails City's alchemy market. He was considered quite wealthy. As for that Mafa Merlin, I'm not too sure. I only heard that his life wasn't in a very good state after Locke Merlin's death. Once the family learnt about it, they sent William over to help him rebuild the Gilded Rose. I also heard that the Gilded Rose's financial resources are quite terrifying, it is already the largest alchemy store in Thousand Sails City…"

"You… That's the background check you made?!" Ritch was both angered and amused by this answer. 'Why are you asking about Judd Merlin and Locke Merlin? You should be checking Mafa Merlin…'

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Chapter 295: Past Events

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Ritch wanted to kick Ross when he heard that. 'What do you mean you made a background check? Couldn't you go to Thousand Sails City yourself to see how influential the Gilded Rose is? To see what the famous figures of Thousand Sails City such as Solomon, Cadgar, or Lys think of your younger cousin? It's not that hard…

'Thousand Sails City is only a few days away from Okland, it would only have taken you a few days to visit Thousand Sails City and check! You would naturally have understood why your cousin isn't interested in what you offered… He is a Master Alchemist that isn't even 22! He is someone who beat an Archmage when he was only a 9th Rank Great Mage! All of Okland's geniuses are far inferior to your distant cousin. What Aube Merlin? What Leon Merlin? What Stan Watson? They are far inferior to him…

'If you had learnt this, would you still be willing to use your alchemy techniques and magic knowledge as a bargaining chip?'

Ritch really wanted to tell Ross the truth…

But he couldn't say anything…

Ritch's friendship with Ross was indeed special. He owed Ross a big favor from the Raging Flame Plane.

That was why he didn't mind telling Ross that he was meeting a special VIP, and even some of the matters concerning that VIP. These things were already known to many inside the Black Horn chamber of commerce, and it wasn't a secret with a higher level of confidentiality.

But the identity of the special VIP…

This definitely couldn't be shared.

No one else knew right now besides that guard leader and himself.

He had to report this matter to the higher-ups immediately and wait for them to decide to what extent this information should be kept secret. Before that, he definitely couldn't leak this, even to Ross.

The problem was that if he didn't say anything, Ross would most likely cause some trouble.

The current Ross didn't know how terrifying his distant cousin was. He thought that the young mage was only an ordinary person from a small, distant town, and he even wanted to offer such meager techniques and knowledge to trade for something.

That was too dangerous.

With Ritch's understanding of Ross Merlin, he could definitely affirm that if Ross' transaction failed, he would definitely move on to threats and using force to snatch that thing. At that time, Ross would be finished. Even if Patriarch Ofran personally appeared, he might not be able to protect him.

'What should I do…'

Ritch saw Ross' confidence as recklessness.

'How about I give him some hints?'

As he thought of this, Ritch coughed. "Well, Ross, I think that your distant younger cousin isn't that simple. Why else would your patriarch be in such a hurry to get him back?"

"Haha, that should be because of William," Ross sneered. He had been annoyed by William repeatedly blocking his path. "After going to Thousand Sails City, William kept sending information to the family, embellishing the Gilded Rose's power. Patriarch Ofran is already convinced that the Gilded Rose is unbelievably wealthy. He thinks that as long as he can control that wealth for the Merlin Family, he will be able to surpass the Watson Family in some respects. It's ridiculous! The struggle between the Merlin Family and the Watson Family has been going on for a millennium, how could it be decided by mere wealth…"

"You…" Ritch had risked unveiling that secret to give him a hint, but Ross was still clueless. So Ritch had no choice but to keep a smile on his face while prodding him with another hint. "This seems a bit arbitrary. You think your younger cousin would be able to gain so much wealth in Thousand Sails City just by relying on William?"

"Well…" Ross' expression sank as he thought of this. "My younger cousin is indeed in control of a frightening force. It is very likely that an Archmage is protecting him. You should have learnt about Stan Watson's death already. I suspect that it is the work of an Archmage at Mafa's side. I asked Anna of the Red Dragon Mercenary Group and she said that it was the work of someone very young, probably in his early twenties and holding a staff with an Elemental Amber embedded in it. Help me look for that person if you can. I suspect that this is a shadow following Mafa…"

"…" Ritch nearly blew up in rage. He looked at Ross for a long time before finally sighing, choosing not to say anything else.

'How come you are so smart during each of your planar expeditions, yet retarded when dealing with such a matter… The Red Dragon Mercenary, Anna, already said that it was a young mage in his early twenties, how could you not link that to your distant cousin? Isn't your cousin in his early twenties?'

Ritch truly wanted to take out his staff and hit Ross on the head, at least twice, just to see if it would straighten him up.

"Alright, let's not talk about this here…" Ross didn't notice any change in Ritch's expression and sighed before continuing, "Help me take a look at the guest list, I want to know where my younger cousin is sitting…"

"I…" Ritch's eyes were locked onto Ross. After a while, he ground his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll help you take a look at it…"

Ritch gave up…

Nothing could be done about it. What else could he do? Tell him directly that the distant cousin he kept talking about was actually the special VIP that had just entered? This might end up causing big trouble for himself…

All he could do now was to hope that Ross would restrain himself. He would be courting death if he threatened his cousin after the transaction failed. That young High Mage was holding the Black Horn chamber of commerce's Gold VIP Voucher. Only the few top executives had the power to deliver those. In the Black Horn chamber of commerce's territories, anyone holding a Gold VIP Voucher would be under their protection. Even if that person killed someone, the Black Horn chamber of commerce would do everything within their means to shield them.

This meant…

If Ross Merlin made a mistake, he would die to Mafa Merlin without the latter suffering any real consequences.

"He went in, 5th row. He is sitting with William." Ritch sighed as he told Ross. But he didn't feel too reassured with leaving the matter alone, so he urged, "Also, Ross, you can talk business with him, but don't act without thinking if it fails. This is the Black Horn chamber of commerce's territory. It will be very hard for me to do anything if there is a problem…"

"Thanks, Ritch." Ross patted Ritch's shoulder. "I understand, I won't make a move in there…"

"…" Ritch was already struggling to keep his composure. 'Fuck, you are a 5th Rank High Mage, how could you be so retarded? Did I tell you only to not make a move here? I am telling you that if you can't come to an agreement, you should get out of here. He isn't someone you can afford to offend!'

Unfortunately, Ritch couldn't afford to say this explicitly, while Ross was completely oblivious. With a friendly smile, he entered the auction hall.

"Fucking idiot…" Ritch cursed after seeing Ross leave. But after cursing, he couldn't help following after him.

In order to not be sensed by that young High Mage, Ritch sat especially far back. He absent-mindedly greeted a few guests he recognized while unblinkingly looking at Ross, afraid he would trigger a calamity.

The auction had already started, but only some ordinary things were on display for now: some common potions, Inheritance rank Magic Tools, all kinds of magic materials that couldn't be considered rare, those sorts of things. Lin Yun wasn't interested in those, so he just chatted with William.

"Cousin, do you know that guy we met outside?"

"The guy outside?" William was distracted at first before remembering. "Ah, you are talking about the one dressed in gold and jewelry that is blinding everyone? Of course I know him, that's Salen Charlotte. The Merlin Family and the Charlotte Family had been mortal enemies, but since the appearance of Santon Merlin and the death of Fussen Charlotte, they remained low key. Very few members of the Charlotte Family would participate in the struggle in Okland. But somehow, the Charlotte Family got some support in the recent years and their strength quickly rose up, just like a phoenix being reborn from ashes. In fact, they organized an expedition to the Raging Flame Plane a few years ago. I am very familiar with that Salen Charlotte…"

"Oh?"

"At that time, all the major forces of Okland participated in the battle for the Raging Flame Plane, and the Charlotte Family also sent their own planar army. Salen Charlotte was among them. I was Leon's second back then. We were tasked with attacking the Radiant Fort. But when I reached the Radiant Fort, I found out that it was already occupied by the Charlotte Family…"

"You saw Leon's character. How could he leave the Radiant Fort to the Charlotte Family? He directly ordered an attack. At the time, Salen's strength was similar to mine. We fought for half an hour and ended up in a tie. After Leon took over the Radiant Fort, he rushed over and dealt with Salen. I was wronged… Salen didn't dare to take revenge on Leon, so he settled for me. When I returned to Thousand Sails City last time, he kept provoking me for a few days…"

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Chapter 296: Black Moon Splendor

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"This…" Lin Yun thought about it for a long time but couldn't understand the logic behind it. He looked at William with sympathy. "How come you are so unlucky…"

"Yeah, I don't know why my luck is so bad. It had to be Salen Charlotte out of everyone. That guy is a mad dog. I rarely had contact with him in Okland, but he would seize every opportunity to sneer at me or attack me. He became even crazier after becoming an Expert Swordsman. He would use every occasion to challenge me. One of the reasons I accepted going to Thousand Sails City besides just obeying the family was to avoid him…"

"Hmm, a 4th Rank Expert Swordsman, that's very good for his age…" Lin Yun nodded and stopped there.

"It's not bad…" William saw that Lin Yun didn't intend to continue discussing and tactfully remained quiet, but he was praising himself in his mind. 'I'm so clever, I went to Thousand Sails City and had the chance to meet you. Otherwise, I would have been completely crushed by that guy…'

"Cousin Mafa." Ross approached as the two finished their conversation. He had directly homed in on them after entering the auction hall.

In order to let this VIP remain undisturbed, Ritch had picked a location that was relatively empty, but that made it so that Ross could now sit directly next to them.

"Ross, how come it's you?" William rolled his eyes at him. That man was like a ghost, the way he haunted them.

"William, you'd best not provoke me…" Ross was already in a bad mood after being blocked by William again and again, so his gaze was icy cold as he glared at him.

"I'm so scared…"

"I'll say it for the last time. This matter is very important to me. So important that I would do anything for it. Keep provoking me if you think that you can face my fury again after luckily beating me once."

"Haha…" Disdain was apparent on William's face. Others might be scared of Ross Merlin, but William wasn't. He knew that the person sitting next to him wouldn't let Ross act up.

After sneering, William was about to say something to provoke Ross when Lin Yun waved his hand. "It's fine, Cousin, let him finish his words."

"Alright…"

"You can speak now."

"Mafa Merlin, according to our relationship, I can also call you Cousin. I investigated you before coming here, I hope you don't mind…"

"Haha, it's fine."

"I know that your alchemy shop is very wealthy and influential in Thousand Sails City. I also know that you have a very powerful mage at your side who might possibly have the strength of an Archmage. That powerful mage killed Stan Watson in the Aurij Mountains. If I'm not wrong, Stan Watson should have had a map on his body, but after his death, the map disappeared. I think that this map is likely in your hands…"

"That's right." Lin Yun straightforwardly nodded and acknowledged it. There was no need to hide it. After all, in Lin Yun's eyes, a 5th Rank High Mage like Ross Merlin wasn't worth worrying about. Let alone Ross, even Stan Watson, who had made Ross despair, was only a ticket to the Ancestral Land for Lin Yun.

"That's great." Unfortunately, Ross didn't understand Lin Yun's attitude. He thought that since his young cousin admitted to owning the map, he was indicating that there might be a chance to trade. Why else would he acknowledge it?

"Cousin Mafa, that map is very important to me. As I said, I would do anything for it. But this map isn't important to you. So I think we should come to an agreement. Give me the map and I'll give you some other compensation. You should know that I've been going on expeditions through various large planes owned by the Merlin Family. Although I didn't have many outstanding achievements, I've had some pretty good harvests…"

"Oh?"

"Today, I brought three Inheritance Magic Tools. As long as Cousin Mafa agrees, these three Inheritance Magic Tools are yours. Moreover, I also have some experience and knowledge, so if Cousin Mafa has any questions, I might be able to give you a few pointers…"

"Hahahahaha!" William couldn't hold himself back anymore and burst out in laughter.

He then looked at Ross with a strange expression.

The expression was really quite peculiar.

It felt as if he was looking at some rare animal in a zoo.

Ross looked doubtfully at William, but didn't understand the meaning behind that gaze, so he thought that William was just trying to provoke him.

But Ross didn't have the time to take care of him. After glancing at him, he focused back on Lin Yun.

"Moreover, your shop might meet some trouble from time to time in a place like Thousand Sails City. I should be able to help, as a 5th Rank High Mage. I can promise you that as long as you give that map to me, I can help your Gilded Rose three times."

Ross said all this with a sincere expression, but the answer he awaited never came. He looked up and found out that the other side's eyes weren't even looking at him.

It was because the auction had already moved on to the middle section and one Magic Tool came out.

"The next item to be auctioned is a damaged Spiritual Magic Tool. The name of that Magic Tool is Black Moon Splendor. According to our Black Horn chamber of commerce's appraiser, Black Moon Splendor comes from the hand of a Master Alchemist of the 3rd Dynasty. It has over two thousand years of history and might have been damaged due to the passage of time, making its power disappear from the limelight before appearing in front of everybody today. The damage to this Spiritual Magic Tool isn't too serious. It could completely recover if a Master Alchemist is willing to spend some time to take care of it. Now, this Black Moon Splendor will start at the low price of 50,000 golds."

"Cousin Mafa, what do you think of my conditions?" Ross had two peak Spiritual Magic Tools as one of the three geniuses of the Merlin Family, so he naturally wouldn't be interested in a damaged Spiritual Magic Tool. After giving it a quick glance, he focused back on Lin Yun.

"Wait…" Lin Yun didn't even turn his head and directly bid, "80,000 golds."

"Cousin Mafa, what do you mean by this?" Traces of displeasure crept onto Ross' face. 'For a damaged Spiritual Magic Tool you would put me to the side? Are you trying to humiliate me?'

"Wait, we will talk about this later." Lin Yun frowned. He had been bothered twice by Ross while bidding and was becoming very unhappy about this.

Because the transaction Ross wanted to discuss simply couldn't compare to the Black Moon Splendor.

They were on two completely different levels.

The map Stan Watson left behind would at most satisfy Lin Yun's curiosity, but this damaged Spiritual Magic Tool would most likely become the first Augment of the Doom Staff.

Black Moon Splendor was worthless by itself. Even if Lin Yun fixed it, it would most likely lie idle in his hand, but some of the techniques used for it were very important to him.

It was because this Black Moon Splendor used a rare Array Layering technique, which was what the Doom Staff needed.

Thus, Lin Yun didn't spare anything to get it.

"200,000 golds." Lin Yun raised the price to 200,000 with his 3rd bid.

"250,000 golds." A voice suddenly came out from one of the private rooms on the top floor.

Lin Yun felt that this voice was familiar. Before he even thought about it, he heard William cursing and understood. The one bidding should be that Salen Charlotte.

"William Merlin! You think you can trick me by asking someone to bid for you? I'll fight over anything you fancy!" The private rooms had been prepared for the famous people of every major force. The Black Horn chamber of commerce had first-rate sound amplification magic items within for them to use. The bid of 250,000 golds came from the arrogant Salen Charlotte.

"That idiot…" William ground his teeth.

"Haha, it's fine…" Lin Yun smiled before raising his hand. "800,000 golds."

Lin Yun's bid silenced the entire venue.

Countless gazes fell on Lin Yun. Everyone wanted to see which wastrel was bidding 800,000 for a damaged Spiritual Magic Tool.

How could this not be wasting money?

An intact Spiritual Magic Tool would sell for that price…

The auctioneer even said that they would only be able to restore it they hired a Master Alchemist.

But was hiring a Master Alchemist that easy?

Which Master Alchemist would offer their services without being paid at least 200,000 or 300,000 golds?

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Chapter 297: Rainbow Tears

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Moreover, repairing a Magic Tool required magic materials. He would have to spend another 200,000 to 300,000 golds on magic materials, making the actual price of that Spiritual Magic Tool become more like a million golds. With luck, this might be enough to buy two Spiritual Magic Tools.

800,000 golds was a really scary price.

Even Salen Charlotte, who wanted to oppose William at all costs, immediately became silent after hearing that frighteningly high price. He had to remain silent. Bidding a few hundred thousand golds to buy a damaged Spiritual Magic Tool while embarrassing William seemed quite worthwhile. But now that the price had reached 800,000, even the bold Salen couldn't say anything…

"Isn't that too expensive?" William was a bit worried.

"Not really…" Lin Yun shook his head with a smile, waiting for the auctioneer to recover.

Completely unsurprisingly, the bid of 800,000 golds defeated all the competitors. Soon, the hammer fell as the auctioneer announced the winning bid.

"Cousin Mafa…" Ross looked a bit stunned. It looked like this cousin from the distant Thousand Sails City indeed had shocking financial resources. He had taken out a sum of 800,000 without hesitation.

Ross chose his words carefully this time, feeling that the conditions he had raised before couldn't move such a wealthy person.

"That wasn't very worthwhile. I have two peak Spiritual Magic Tools that are ten times stronger than an intact Black Moon Splendor. I'll let you choose one of them if you are willing to trade the map for it!"

Ross was staring at Lin Yun with reddened eyes. This was the greatest card he could use. The two peak Spiritual Magic Tools had been the trump cards that allowed Ross to come back from the Raging Flame Plane. Their value was unimaginable. Ross had taken these two peak Spiritual Magic Tools to every planar expedition and kept defeating formidable opponents and pushing his way through all kinds of dangers. They could be considered Ross' last support, his second life.

Ross Merlin had always considered them more important than anything.

Even those that he considered closest and most trustworthy weren't allowed to touch them.

But now…

Ross Merlin had no choice but to take out these two peak Spiritual Magic Tools to try to trade one for that map.

This was Ross' bottom line… He was willing to trade half of his second life. If this offer was declined, he would have to use some special methods…

His eyes didn't leave Lin Yun after saying that.

Ross waited, he waited for his younger cousin's answer…

But before he could get his answer, his younger cousin raised his hand once again to bid.

"300,000 golds."

Seven thumb-sized magic gems were being auctioned at this moment… Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple. The seven colors were all different and looked like a rainbow inside the crystal display.

This was an intact set of Rainbow Tears. Each of the seven gems had a different power, with each one being comparable to a decent Magic Tool. Moreover, the seven gems shared the same origin and had some mysterious connection. After they were processed, they could form a very powerful array.

Even in the center of the kingdom, this set of Rainbow Tears would be considered a valuable treasure. Bids kept being made one after the other when the Auctioneer finished introducing it. Lin Yun took the opportunity to bid 300,000 golds, but someone else outbid him before he could relax.

"320,000 golds."

"350,000 golds."

"380,000."

"400,000 golds."

"450,000 golds."

"500,000 golds."Hands were raised one after the other as bids kept coming. In an instant, the price of the Rainbow Tears reached 600,000 golds…

This was a very shocking number…

"800,000 golds!" Salen Charlotte's voice resounded again from one of the private room. "William! I don't believe you can take out more than 800,000 golds again!"

Salen's voice was overbearing and haughty.

That enormous bid made many others feel depressed. Salen Charlotte had been pondering what he could do to get back at his nemesis, but he hadn't expected the opportunity to come back so soon. He felt as if fate was on his side. The Rainbow Tears were one of the items the Charlotte Family was after. Although 800,000 golds was on the expensive side, it wasn't too much for them.

Most importantly…

'I already bid 800,000 golds, I don't believe that you can outbid me, William.'

"1,500,000 golds." Just as Salen was rejoicing, someone on the 5th row placed a bid.

Salen suddenly froze. He thought he had misheard at first and grabbed one of his subordinates to ask, "What… What did he say?"

"He… He… He bid 1,500,000 golds…" The subordinate was frightened by that number. He stuttered for a while before managing to answer.

Salen's expression fell apart, looking very unsightly. His eyes were wide open, as well as his mouth. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but his tongue wasn't listening. He stood there in a daze for a long time before fiercely swearing, "Fuck, he is crazy!"

Yes, this was what everyone was thinking…

As the bid was called, everyone in the hall was wondering who would create such a sensation. No one expected the Rainbow Tears to sell for almost twice their market price. Their eyes all converged on Lin Yun.

They then discovered that the person who bid 1,500,000 golds on the Rainbow Tears was also the one who spent 800,000 golds on Black Moon Splendor. Many of the onlookers were chatting among themselves, trying to figure out the spendthrift's identity. This was too frightening… He had spent over two million in a few minutes, how could he not be considered a spendthrift?

As for the result of the bidding over the Rainbow Tears, there was no suspense.

Who would compete with Lin Yun when he had placed a bid of 1,500,000 golds? Although the auctioneer followed the rules and inquired a few more times before doing a countdown, not one bid was heard. In the end, the Rainbow Tears also fell into Lin Yun's hands.

"Cousin Mafa, you…" Ross was also stunned.

'It looks like this distant cousin is even more wealthier than I had imagined…'

That was 1,500,000 golds! In the past few years of expeditions, Ross had managed to save up no more than a million. He felt that his savings were insufficient for him to be participating in such an auction and immediately felt uncomfortable.

'What should I do…'

Ross Merlin wasn't very optimistic…

Although his distant younger cousin's wealth had been the hot topic in the Merlin Family recently, Ross always felt that since he was from a small place like Thousand Sails City, he shouldn't have seen much of the world. Thus, he had been overconfident, thinking that his resources would be enough to impress this younger cousin.

But Ross no longer thought so…

He'd only moved his hands a few times and spent over two millions, how could he be moved by Ross' offerings?

But…

Ross had no more cards to show…

'What should I do? I absolutely have to get that map!'

As he thought of this, Ross made his decision… He ground his teeth as he said, "Cousin Mafa, I'll say it once again. I would do anything for this map…"

The intent behind that sentence was very clear…

Ross felt that no matter how calm and collected that younger cousin was, he would have no choice but to seriously discuss the offer when hearing these words.

But he hadn't expected to not receive an answer at all.

"Cousin Mafa!" Ross frowned as he said in a louder voice.

…Still no answer.

Here, Lin Yun turned his head and softly said to William, "Cousin, go get me a list of the auctioned items."

Lin Yun was delighted after getting the Rainbow Tears. How could he be in the mood to pay attention to Ross?

He'd spent over two millions and gotten two of the key Augments for the Doom Staff. This made Lin Yun somewhat interested in the auction.

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Chapter 298: Star Gem

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun originally didn't expect much of this auction. After all, the magic gem needed for the core of the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel could only be described as priceless. He had only come here to try his luck and see if anything interesting showed up, but he hadn't expected his luck to be this good, getting him two items that he needed. He was finally focusing on the auction.

This auction was worth coming to.

Even if he couldn't find the core gem for the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel, it would be worth it as long as he could complete a part of the Doom Staff.

He was even feeling somewhat regretful…

He would have already visited this place instead of wasting his time in Thousand Sails City if he had known earlier that Okland had magic materials that were this good… And not only had he wasted time, but he'd also been exploited by Cadgar.

As a VIP with a Gold Voucher, Lin Yun's request was immediately met, and William quickly returned with Ritch in tow.

Normally, with Ritch's identity in Thousand Sails City, there was no need for him to personally deliver a list of items.

However, the young High Mage's identity was a bit special. He had already received a Gold VIP voucher, and because of that, Ritch needed to show some goodwill. There was also the fact that Ross Merlin was there…

Ritch and Ross had been friends for a few years and he truly didn't want to see Ross run himself into a corner because of some item. Besides representing the Black Horn chamber of commerce, Ritch also came to give some hints to Ross… once again.

"High Mage Merlin, this is the list you requested," Ritch said respectfully before handing a fancy scroll to Lin Yun.

"Thank you." Lin Yun nodded before taking the scroll, unfolding it, and starting to read. Soon, a happy expression appeared on his calm face.

'High Mage Merlin?' Ross suddenly froze when he heard this. He truly hadn't expected that his distant cousin already had the power of a High Mage.

Ross took a proper look at his cousin for the first time…

Indeed, the mana fluctuations emitted by his cousin had the trace of the Magic Conducting Runes being fused. This was usually very easy to recognize because no matter how powerful a Great Mage was, they weren't High Mages. Their mana fluctuations would always remain chaotic. Only High Mages could emit condensed mana fluctuations as their Magic Conducting Runes were fused, making their mana feel thick and steady.

Although Ross had come into contact with that younger cousin several times, he'd never really registered this, as he was biased.

Only at this point, when Ritch called him High Mage Merlin, did Ross discover that his younger cousin was a High Mage…

Moreover, he was a very wealthy High Mage…

The only saving grace was that although this distant cousin had entered the High Mage realm, he still seemed to be in the early stages of that realm. From his mana fluctuations, Ross could clearly sense that he had the power of a 1st Rank High Mage. In other words, his cousin was still far from being at his level.

Realizing this, Ross sighed in relief.

The other side's huge wealth already put a lot of pressure on Ross. If his magic power was also comparable to his own, Ross would have to think twice before going for that map.

"Oh, Ross, you are also here. What a coincidence…" After respectfully handing the scroll to Lin Yun, Ritch looked at Ross with a surprised expression. "It's been a few months since we last saw each other, hasn't it? How about we go get a drink after the auction? Oh, right, High Mage Merlin shares the same family name as you… Isn't he also part of your Merlin Family? No wonder your Merlin Family is a millennial family. Let me tell you, Ross, this High Mage from your family is far from being simple. Even my teacher Hulad keeps singing praises about him…"

Ritch said all of this while trying his best to keep eye contact with Ross.

'I hope he will finally connect the dots and figure out that he is the special VIP I talked about earlier…'

"Haha, I definitely have to congratulate Cousin Mafa. Sir Hulad is one of Okland's Archmages. To be valued by such a person… Cousin Mafa definitely has a great backer…" Unfortunately for Ritch, Ross connected the wrong dots and merely congratulated Lin Yun.

"…" Ritch felt like spitting blood after hearing this.

'How could you be this fucking stupid? I'm not helping you this much just to have you congratulate him. Fuck, I told you that my teacher is paying attention to your younger cousin, don't you know who my teacher is? He's one of the uppermost powers of the Black Horn chamber of commerce! I just told you that your younger cousin is a High Mage, I even talked with you for a long time at the door earlier! Did you forget everything?'

Sadly, Ritch couldn't afford to let his thoughts out in such a place. He could only do his best to convey his intentions to Ross by giving him a meaningful look.

"Eh? Ritch? What's going on with your eye? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" But as a result, Ross only became concerned for him.

"I…" Ritch almost couldn't hold himself back anymore. 'Forget it, whatever happens, happens!'

"Whatever, go ahead," Ritch said. He left while full of anger after that short discussion.

Only Ross was quite baffled by his behavior…

'Is there something wrong with Ritch? He was already quite strange during our discussion at the door, and it was even worse just now… Why was he blinking incessantly? Was he trying to tell me something?'

But, after thinking about it for a bit, he didn't come up with anything special.

Lin Yun had been studying the list of items all this time.

This trip to the Black Horn Auction was truly worth it…

After the Rainbow Tears, there were a total of seven items that he was interested in. Six of them could be used as Augments for the Doom Staff.

'That's… That's the Crystal Page!'

From the introduction on the scroll, it could be seen that this Crystal Page was the size of one's palm and covered in numerous characters…

If he wasn't wrong, this Crystal Page was most likely the 6th Page of the Book of Death, the Truth Chapter!

But…

What drew most of Lin Yun's interested was the final item.

That was a fist-sized Star Gem. The illustration and description made it seem dazzling. With one glance at the illustration, Lin Yun knew that he had found the gem he needed for the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel…

It was rumored that every star in the starry sky had its own life. It might live for several million years, billions, or even more. But it was said that before one fell, it would burst in a split second, burst with all its light and heat before transforming into dust, only leaving a Star Gem behind.

Naturally, it was only a legend.

No one ever witnessed the fall of a star, even Lin Yun didn't know how Noscent ended after its destruction 30,000 years later.

But one thing was certain: the Star Gem did come from the sky. They would fall in Noscent alongside meteor showers, buried for millennia until someone discovered them.

Star Gems innately held massive amounts of power. There had been quite a few famous True Spirit Magic Tools in Noscent History that used a Star Gem as their core.

But Star Gems had always been very rare, especially a fist-sized one. Lin Yun had seen mentions of no more than ten of them in those books!

He roughly estimated that if this Star Gem became the core of the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel, it might make the Spell Wheel become a peak True Spirit Magic Tool immediately, and once Enderfa moved it, it might even become a Magic Tool that would truly leave its marks on history.

Lin Yun knew that the first True Spirit Magic Tool he crafted would soon be born.

"William, come over here!" As Lin Yun was thinking about this, Salen, who had been defeated twice in these bidding wars, had left his private room.

He also seemed very aggressive as he pushed aside a guard of the Black Horn chamber of commerce while rushing towards the fifth row.

"William Merlin! Are you looking for a beating? You think I don't know why you are competing against me for those items? You are quite bold…" Salen was followed by half a dozen subordinates who looked a bit scary. He ignored everyone else and stopped in front of William, pointing right at his face. "Don't think that having a bit of money is anything amazing. Just wait, I already requested the family. The Charlotte Family is determined to win the next seven items, as well as the final one!"

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Chapter 299: Move Your Hand

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"I am so scared…" The current William Merlin wasn't even afraid of Ross Merlin, so how could he fear Salen Charlotte? He stood up as he sneered, "You said you are determined to win the next items? You think the Black Horn chamber of commerce is owned by your Charlotte Family?"

"William, did you think that I can't do anything to you in the Black Horn chamber of commerce's domain? Let me tell you, I am a Black Iron VIP of the Black Horn chamber of commerce…" After saying that, Salen waved his hand and his subordinates immediately surrounded them.

In the eyes of ordinary folk, these people indeed looked quite fierce, but to Lin Yun and Ross, those who had walked countless times on the thin line between life and death, they could see with a single glance that they were elite, experienced warriors. Each of them had been tempered through life and death trials, and killing was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

"Alright, Salen, you have been noisy enough." Seeing that a fight might break out soon, Ross had no choice but to step forward.

No matter how much he disliked William, he was still a Merlin. How could he let him be bullied by the Charlotte Family?

And with Salen making a ruckus here, how could he get that map from his distant cousin's hands?

Ross had thought that since he stepped out and intervened, with his status as a 5th Rank High Mage, Salen would have no choice but to withdraw, no matter how unwilling he was.

Unfortunately, Ross forgot one thing…

He forgot that he had spent the past few years doing planar expeditions and that although he had become very famous throughout, he had rarely shown himself in Okland.

Sadly for Ross, he didn't even get to finish his words before Salen retorted, "Who are you to dare interfere with my business? Kid, don't think that you can be impudent in front of me, Young Master Salen, by hugging William's thigh! Your future is going to be very difficult if you offend the Charlotte Family."

"Ahahahah…" These words made William burst out in laughter.

Although he didn't say anything, he looked as if he was having fun watching Ross in this situation.

"…" Ross almost exploded in rage.

He, as one of the three young geniuses of the Merlin Family and a 5th Rank High Mage with the power of the Endless Spring, was actually mistaken for someone trying to suck up to William? How many people would laugh if this spread?

If he could, Ross would have slapped him and broken all his teeth.

But there was one issue with this plan.

Ross hadn't forgotten that this place was the Black Horn chamber of commerce's domain.

He was also a Black Iron VIP like Salen Charlotte. If a battle broke out here, the Black Horn chamber of commerce would inevitably interfere. This was because of the rules of the Black Horn chamber of commerce, and he wouldn't be able to change it even with his friendship with Ritch.

Ross endured it, taking a few deep breaths to suppress his anger, and when he talked again, his voice was already scarily cold. "Good, good, Salen Charlotte, I'll remember you."

"Hahaha, Okland is so big, there are plenty of people that remember this Young Master Salen," he disdainfully responded before pointing at Lin Yun. "And you, kid, don't think I don't know you were helping William bid. You'd best remember this Young Master Salen. I'll slap you ten times if you bid on any of the next items, and I'll slap you twenty times if you bid twice."

"Move your hand. You are blocking my line of sight." Lin Yun was single-mindedly focused on the list of items and simply had no interest in Salen Charlotte. But now, Salen Charlotte's hand just happened to be in Lin Yun's line of sight. This movement immediately made Lin Yun's eyebrows scrunch up slightly.

Only William noticed Lin Yun's subtle change.

'Idiot, you provoked the one person you shouldn't have, you are truly out of luck…' William naturally wouldn't warn Salen Charlotte. He only enjoyed the spectacle from the side while acting as if this had nothing to do with him by looking at the ceiling of the auction hall.

Salen Charlotte simply didn't realize anything was amiss and just kept going further and further down this unlucky path.

"Oh wow, you are quite arrogant, kid!"

"I'll say it one more time, move your hand, you are blocking my line of sight…" Lin Yun raised his head slightly to throw a glance at Salen Charlotte.

"Shit, how could you dare speak to this Young Master like this?" Salen flew into a rage after being treated like that. "You guys, come over and throw this kid out for me. I want to see if he'll still act so arrogantly after seeing his own teeth scattered on the ground!"

A few fierce subordinates pounced over after hearing Salen's order. These experienced warriors were most likely a part of the Charlotte Family's planar legion. They hadn't shown it before, but they were now bursting with formidable Aura. The onlookers scattered away. Those subordinates' Auras were almost as powerful as Expert Swordmen's. If they weren't careful, they get injured.

Seeing this situation, Ross prepared a Flame Ring, but he stopped himself just as he was about to cast it, remembering that this was a great opportunity to make his cousin owe him a favor.

Thus, Ross waited.

He was waiting for the conflict to start.

He knew that Salen was a 4th Rank Expert Swordsman with some strong subordinates. He felt that even if his cousin was a High Mage, he would definitely suffer in that conflict, so all he had to do was wait for that moment.

Afterwards, he would be able to step in to clean up the mess.

'Then, would he still not give me the map after such a huge favor?'

But Ross didn't know that William had already noticed his actions and was inwardly ridiculing him.

William was acting as a bystander this time. He obviously saw that Ross had been preparing to cast a Flame Ring and naturally understood what he was thinking about.

'You think you are so clever, yet you missed such a huge opportunity…'

William felt that Ross' actions were extremely stupid because he knew too much about his younger cousin.

He was the type that hated owing others anything. As long as Ross had immediately helped him, no matter the outcome, he would have made his cousin owe him a favor. That favor might not have just been a simple map, it might have changed his entire life, just like it had changed William's.

Unfortunately, Ross had missed such an opportunity.

And sure enough…

Just as Ross restrained his Flame Ring, the young High Mage who had been sitting suddenly moved. A flaming snake appeared, twisting and turning. The few warriors approaching Expert Swordsman Rank immediately let out mournful screams.

A bloody smell permeated the auction hall in an instant.

Before anyone understood what had happened, those few elites collapsed on the ground, letting out blood-curdling howls as each of them used one of their hands to hold the other wrist.

Everyone could now see the outcome.

All the subordinates that Salen Charlotte brought here, without any exception, had their right hands burnt by that flaming snake. Their right hands looked like charcoal, the outer layer black like a charred piece of wood.

But it wasn't over.

The flaming snake remained after burning their arms. It jumped out of one of the subordinates and stopped in front of Salen.

Salen was completely terrified.

His face was as white as a sheet of paper. Although his right hand was gripping the sword at his waist, he was shivering and couldn't even draw it out of its scabbard.

He was still in that state as the flaming snake moved closer to his body. He just kept retreating, shivering incessantly. When he finally recovered, he screamed, "Help me! Help me! Get that damn thing away!"

The auction hall was completely silent.

Only Salen's screams resounded in the auction hall for a very long time.

They were all looking at Salen Charlotte with sympathy. A 4th Rank Expert Swordsman could already be described as outstanding in Okland. He would hold a key position in the Charlotte Family in the future.

But now, this 4th Rank Expert Swordsman was scared shitless by that flaming snake.

The snake was now coiled around Salen's arm, the arm that had blocked Lin Yun's line of sight.

Although the Expert Swordsman had Aura protecting his body, its power paled compared to the flaming snake, and it could only hold on for a short time before quickly darkening.

"Guards… Guards!" After retreating a few steps, Salen suddenly remembered to use his status as a Black Iron VIP. "Damn guards, where are you! I am an honored Black Iron VIP, this shouldn't happen to me in your Black Horn chamber of commerce!"

But what a pity… No one cared about him…

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Chapter 300: Fear

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The Aura covering Salen's body was getting dimmer and dimmer and the flaming snake wrapping around his arm was becoming so hot that it was emitting a blinding glow.

"Fuck, what are the guards doing? Hurry up and save me! I am a Black Iron VIP! You can't do this to me!"

Salen's shouts echoed loudly throughout the hall.

But no one answered.

Not only were there a few dozen Great Swordsmen guarding the auction hall, but there were also a few guard leaders who were Expert Swordsmen. There was also Ritch, who was a High Mage, as well as an Archmage keeping watch. This was necessary to maintain order in the auction hall. The Black Horn chamber of commerce's reputation wasn't for nothing.

But none of these people who should have been maintaining order moved.

They all remained at their assigned spots, as if they couldn't see what was happening.

"What are you doing!?" The Aura on Salen's body was almost gone and he could already feel some sharp pain on his arm. The frightening heat almost drove him crazy. "I am a Black Iron VIP!!!"

Salen felt more and more hopeless.

The high temperature and sharp pain on his arm made him dizzy. He felt as if the world was flashing black and white while the sound of his own voice seemed more and more distant.

"Forget it, Cousin…" William's words assisted Salen. "His grandfather had some friendship with your grandfather…"

"Oh?" Lin Yun frowned.

But ultimately, Lin Yun had Syudos withdraw.

After being freed from Syudos, Salen was laying on the ground, gasping for air like he was collapsing from heatstroke.

It took a few minutes for Salen to recover some energy, but he no longer dared to provoke Lin Yun. He only threw a glance filled with fear and hate before quickly retreating a dozen meters.

It looked like someone suddenly retreating after seeing a viper in a bush, afraid that they would be bitten if they were too slow.

After getting far enough away, Salen stopped. He didn't dare to look at Lin Yun and instead vented all his anger on Ritch with a dark expression.

"Ritch, what is going on with your Black Horn chamber of commerce!? I am a Black Iron VIP! Shouldn't you take responsibility if something bad happens to me?"

"My apologies, Young Master Salen." Ritch kept a smile on his face as he calmly answered, "The person you attacked is a Gold Vip."

"I don't care about Gold…" Salen stopped before finishing his sentence, his mouth wide open as his eyes bulged comically. He looked at Ritch for a long time before carefully inquiring, "What… What did you say? Gold… Gold VIP?"

"Indeed, Young Master Salen. The person you attacked is a Gold VIP." Ritch nodded. "As a result, you might have some trouble. You and your Family will have to give an explanation for this matter. That Gold VIP can also pursue you further for what happened. Believe me, this is not good news at all. If this happens, the Black Horn chamber of commerce would have no choice but to blacklist you and your family…"

"…" Salen was standing there, stunned. He gulped before asking, "Is he… Is he really a Gold VIP?"

"Definitely, he is a Gold VIP."

"No way…" After confirming once again, Salen Charlotte became teary from fright. 'How… How… How could I be so unlucky? It was just a small conflict, how could I fall onto a Gold VIP… This must be a joke…'

How could Salen Charlotte not know the seriousness of the consequences of attacking a Gold VIP in the Black Horn chamber of commerce's territory?

This was no laughing matter…

As long as the Gold VIP said something, the guards, guard leaders, and even Ritch and the Archmage would unhesitantly attack him. They could even kill him on the spot.

And the Black Horn chamber of commerce could pursue the Charlotte Family to make them take responsibility, and the Patriarch would have no choice but to come out to give an explanation.

"I… I truly didn't know!" Salen wept.

'He wasn't even in a private box, how could a Gold VIP just be in the auction hall? Isn't that misleading people?'

"Young Master Salen, I'm only a minor official in charge of the auction, explaining to me is useless…"

"Ritch, Ritch…" Salen had lost his head. He was holding onto Ritch, begging, "You must help me, I truly didn't do it on purpose. Help me, the Charlotte Family will be grateful and repay you…"

"I said, Young Master Salen, I am only a minor official in charge of the auction. You attacked a Gold VIP, it is far above the limits of my power to do anything…" Ritch helplessly shook his head. "But I can give you a personal suggestion. You can try pleading with that Gold VIP. If he is willing to pardon you, our Black Horn chamber of commerce would naturally not pursue this."

"Pleading, pleading, great, I understand. Thank you, Ritch." Salen no longer cared about his fear and after hurriedly thanking Ritch, he put on a disgusting smile and rushed towards Lin Yun while shivering.

"Cousin Mafa…" Ross' mood was quite complicated.

At first, Ross had thought of waiting for the fight to start before cleaning up the mess and saving his distant cousin, defending the Merlin Family's honor while conveniently making his cousin owe him a favor. He wanted to trade this favor for the map.

But now…

Ross suddenly found that his plan had been bound to fail. His cousin simply didn't need his help to settle this conflict. Moreover, he had settled it in a way he himself would never have dreamt of.

That scene truly scared Ross.

Just one flame injured several seasoned peak Great Swordsmen before making a 4th Rank Expert Swordsman such as Salen Charlotte soil his pants.

Such frightening power far surpassed what Ross Merlin could have thought of…

Ross pondered about this situation. If he wanted to defeat Salen Charlotte while he was under the protection of several peak Great Swordsman, he would have to use the Endless Spring.

Yet, his younger cousin didn't even move, he only sent out one flame and then waited peacefully.

What did this mean?

It was shocking. Even if that flame was just a Magic Tool, without enough power, how could one control such a powerful Magic Tool?

Ross was finally aware that this distant cousin from Thousand Sails City was far from being as simple as he'd thought.

He had ridiculously thought that this cousin of his was only an ordinary wealthy businessman that had money but hadn't experienced the real world, all because he came from a small city. He'd been sure that as long as he offered some benefits, he would be able to exchange for that map. But he could now tell how ridiculous his previous words had been.

Alchemy techniques, magic knowledge… With the way he spent money, how could he not have the money to buy those? That was over two million golds! That was enough to move an Archmage!

As for his two Spiritual Magic Tools…

It felt like a joke now.

He had clearly seen the power of that ball of fire. If it was from a Magic Tool, then that power was at least True Spirit Magic Tool level. His two peak Spiritual Magic Tools couldn't compare.

And that wasn't the most important part.

Ross realized something troublesome because of that terrifying flame.

He realized that he would have ended up facing that True Spirit Magic Tool if he had kept threatening, or even tried to attack him.

That was a power on par with an Archmage. If it burst out to attack him, even he as a 5th Rank High Mage with the Endless Spring might not be able to contend with it. It would be a question of whether he could retreat in one piece; getting that map wouldn't even matter.

As he thought of this, Ross started sweating profusely.

He had his mouth open, but didn't know what to say.

"The map, right?" Lin Yun was actually the one who spoke first. "Let's talk about it after going back…"

"Eh?" Ross was startled at first, before suddenly looking happy. "Yes, yes, when we go back, when we go back…"

Ross' mood was like a roller coaster. It originally was at rock bottom, but he immediately cheered up after hearing Lin Yun's words. That map was too important to Ross.

"Just don't bother me now."

"Of course, of course…" Ross would naturally change his attitude after hearing that there was still hope to get the map.

After dealing with Ross, Lin Yun's gaze returned to the auctioneer. The auctioneer was in the middle of introducing an item. That was a Darkness Evil Python's Python Skin. Needless to say, that item definitely came from the Mercury Tower. Traces of Darkness Evil Pythons could only be found in the Gold Forest Plane occupied by the Mercury Tower.

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Chapter 301: Python Skin

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

This was a powerful and ferocious beast. They were typically Level 30 and could even reach Level 35 after reaching full adulthood. Those would be the rulers of the Darkness Evil Pythons. Even an Archmage like Suyass might suffer if he faced a true Darkness Evil Python King. They spent their lives in the underground cities of the Golden Forest Plane and were fierce and crafty. Usually fused with darkness, they would strike like lightning when Dark Elves passed by. Countless Dark Elves met their ends inside Darkness Evil Pythons over the years.

Even the rulers of the underground of Golden Forest Plane, the Dark Elves, didn't know how to deal with these ferocious and sinister beasts. The power of an Archmage and the mastery of Darkness Magic made them too powerful.

And what Lin Yun fancied was that Darkness Magic.

Darkness Evil Pythons had mysterious patterns on their bodies. These patterns were similar to Berserkers' Totems, they had the same natural power. But the difference was that Berserkers' Totems brought them incredibly fierce physical power, while the patterns on the Darkness Pythons brought incomparably mighty magical power.

This meant that this Darkness Evil Python Skin was a very rare magic material, and the older a python grew, the more valuable it became. A brilliant alchemist could easily turn this Python Skin into a powerful Magic Tool.

This was even more the case for Lin Yun.

The patterns on that Python Skin were extremely dark. With one glance, Lin Yun could determine that this was a Level 32 or 33 Darkness Evil Python. Although it wasn't as frightening as skin from a Darkness Evil Python King, it would be more than enough to be used to improve the Doom Staff.

Lin Yun listened to the passionate introduction of the lot by the auctioneer while inwardly thinking how many golds he should use on that Darkness Evil Python Skin.

But…

But suddenly, a young man wearing shiny silver armor walked over with a cowering expression.

"Salen Charlotte! What are you doing!" William instantly stood up when he saw him. "Still looking for trouble? If not for my plea for leniency, you would have already returned home with a completely charred hand…"

"I…" Salen was startled as he looked at William. He no longer dared to move any closer and remained there, still cowering. His face was filled with grievance and a wronged expression as he complained, "I only came to apologize…"

"Ah? Apologize?" William was a bit surprised, but only asked, "What do you mean, apologize?"

"I reflected on my actions and I want to apologize for my previous behavior."

This event showed that the youths of the Great Families weren't easy to deal with. Even Salen Charlotte, who everyone considered an idiot, knew when he should bow and submit and when he should stand tall.

After coming here, Salen Charlotte didn't care about William and Ross' expressions. He wasn't concerned about the onlookers, and he just threw himself in front of Lin Yun, wiping his tears as he sobbed, "Sir, I did wrong, I made a mistake, I shouldn't have offended you. As a magnanimous person, please forgive my inexperienced self…"

"…" Everyone was shocked when seeing this.

William's eyes almost fell out.

At first, he thought he had misunderstood, but after massaging his eyes a few times, he confirmed that he wasn't dreaming. This really was Salen Charlotte, the one who had been bothering him for a few years… And he was now begging to be pardoned…

'How could Salen Charlotte become like this?'

"Shut up. Sit to the side." While the others were staring in shock, Lin Yun was instead feeling annoyed. The auction had resumed, so how could he have time to deal with Salen now?

"Yes, yes, yes…" Feeling as if he had been pardoned, Salen sat down after hearing those words. He had a serious expression and was sitting obediently just like those students of Okland Magic School.

"Now, the bidding for this Darkness Evil Python Skin will start at 100,000 golds. Each bid increment must be at least 10,000 golds. Let the auction begins now!"

Bids were shouted again after the auctioneer's hammer fell down.

Soon, the Python Skin reached 300,000 golds.

And it didn't look like the bids would slow down anytime soon, the price quickly raising.

After all, let alone the skin itself, the power released by those mysterious patterns was worth far more than 300,000 golds.

"500,000 golds."

"550,000 golds."

"580,000 golds."

"600,000 golds."The auction hall became less noisy when the Python Skin's price reached 800,000 golds.

At this moment, only the people from the private rooms were still competing for the Python Skin. An aged voice came from a private room in the northeast, and a somewhat younger voice came from the central private room. These seemed to be the biggest competitors for the Python Skin.

Lin Yun noted these two individuals in his mind before finally bidding.

"2,000,000 golds." Lin Yun placed his bid like a nouveau riche.The auction hall was silenced.

Countless eyes looked at Lin Yun. They wanted to see what kind of crazy person would bid in such a crazy way.

'This is too unreasonable…'

'How can the auction continue if you act like this? If others bid 800,000 golds, you should offer 900,000 golds if you want to put some pressure… If you are wealthy you can even bid 1,000,000 golds or 1,200,000 golds to show your determination, isn't that enough to achieve your goal?

'Just why are you bidding 2,000,000 golds? You are too damned shameless…'

At this moment, everyone was stunned by this bid. The auction hall remained silent for a few minutes before bursting with whispers commenting on Lin Yun or criticizing him.

"Young Man, it isn't good to show off too much…" At this time, the aged voice from the private room chided him. "You should be that Mafa Merlin who just returned to the Merlin Family, right? I know your Patriarch Ofran and heard a bit about you…"

"Haha…" Lin Yun chuckled before ignoring him.

But the aged voice didn't show any sign of stopping. "As for the previous matter, Salen is a child of the Charlotte family, yet you disregarded the relationship between our Families and crippled the hands of his subordinates before forcing him to beg for forgiveness. Are you really not afraid of affecting the relationship between our two Families?"

"You are too meddlesome…"

Lin Yun didn't really care about that aged voice's words and answered casually.

But to the side, Salen Charlotte was so scared that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

Because he could recognize that voice. It was one of the 9th Rank High Mages of the Charlotte Family, Hanson Charlotte. According to seniority, he should call him Great Uncle.

But Salen really wanted to swear at this GreatUncle.

'Great Uncle, Great Uncle, I'm even calling you grandpa aren't I? Do you have to intervene? Your insight isn't good at all… Did you not see me apologize hoping that this matter would be forgotten?

'Really… You are sitting in the private room, lording from above, so you didn't hear what Ritch told me…

'This's a frigging Gold VIP! I just attacked a Gold VIP in the Black Horn chamber of commerce! If we aren't careful, our entire Charlotte Family could run out of luck. Even the Patriarch would be forced to come over here to give an explanation.

'So what if you have something of a relationship with Ofran? Does that give you the right to ignore the Black Horn chamber of commerce? If you dare, then go tell that to Hulad and see if he is going to slap you or not.'

But Salen's thoughts couldn't reach that elder. He just kept talking. "Young man, I know that you run a very large alchemy business in Thousand Sails City and hold a terrifying amount of wealth. But let me remind you, this is Okland, not Thousand Sails City. You might possess enormous wealth and be able to do whatever you want in Thousand Sails City, but you'd best change this habit in Okland. There are many people more wealthy than you here. No one competed with you earlier not because they didn't have money, but because they didn't think it was worth it."

"So what's your point?"

"Haha, you are quite arrogant, young man. I only gave you a friendly reminder for the sake of Ofran. Since you don't wish to listen, I won't say more. But you shouldn't blame me for not showing any favors to the Merlin Family. Among the next lots, there are two things that I must get."

"That's quite a coincidence…" Lin Yun smiled at the northeast private room. "There are also a few things that I must get. Seven items, including the finale, the Star Gem…"

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Chapter 302: Vying for the Finale

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"You…" The old man coldly snorted before remaining silent.

But Lin Yun's words made everyone check their list of lots.

'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…'

'Shit, including the finale, there are only seven items left…'

'Then that means…'

'Seven items, including the finale, the Star Gem…'

'Shit, that means there is nothing left in the auction for others! That nouveau riche will take over the rest of the auction!'

'That fucker…'

Many people were annoyed and angry. They wouldn't have bothered to come if they had known earlier that such an abnormal wastrel would appear in this auction. What fun was there in seeing someone going home with all the items?

And no one was including the Darkness Evil Python Skin, since it already belonged to that nouveau riche in their eyes.

After all, no one would try to upstage Lin Yun's bid of 2,000,000 golds. That was a price that made everyone despair. The auctioneer himself didn't bother stalling for another bid and only asked once before doing the countdown, slamming his hammer, and announcing that the lot was won.

The auction progressed to the Crystal Page.

It was unknown who was selling the Crystal Page, and there was no detailed information about it. When the auctioneer introduced it, he only mentioned that it possessed some mysterious power. As for its origin, he didn't have access to that information.

But this didn't affect everyone's enthusiasm for the Crystal Page.

After all, the mana fluctuations emitted by the page weren't concealed, and those astonishing mana fluctuations weren't something that any ordinary item possessed. It was a Spiritual Magic Tool at the very least, possibly even a peak Spiritual Magic Tool. Such an item would never sell for less than a million in an auction.

Not to mention…

There was a Lin Yun sitting in the auction hall.

Thus, Lin Yun directly announced his bid for the Crystal Page when it came out.

"1,000,000 golds."

"…" Lin Yun's bid once again silenced the auction hall.

This was too disgusting.

It wasn't too high or too low, it was exactly 1,000,000 golds.

Of the more than a hundred people sitting in the auction hall, about eighty of them had set the price of that item at a million golds. In other words, once the Crystal Page reached a million, they wouldn't compete over it.

As a result, many people were disgusted by Lin Yun's bid of a million.

This feeling was similar to taking out some toilet paper just to have the lights suddenly extinguish, it was a shitty feeling.

At this time, many smart guests started re-examining Lin Yun.

Initially, everyone had thought that he was only a nouveau riche, but his current bid made them realize that this youth wasn't that simple.

How could he bid so precisely otherwise?

He bid a price that made everyone feel uncomfortable…

This kind of insight wasn't something a nouveau riche would have.

Okland didn't lack informed people. Soon, everyone got some basic information: That young man was called Mafa Merlin and had recently returned to the Merlin Family. He had been living in Thousand Sails City previously as an outcast, but apparently, his business in Thousand Sails City was extremely profitable and he held a terrifying amount of wealth.

Some people even learnt that the Merlin Family had been so eager to get him to return because of that wealth.

For some time, the auction hall became noisy as people discussed this with their neighbors.

They were all discussing this suddenly returning Mafa Merlin.

Some meddlesome ones even started talking about his rise in Thousand Sails City and speculating over whether he came to fight over the Patriarch's position. There also some who recognized Ross next to him and starting saying that Ross Merlin and that nouveau riche from Thousand Sails City had joined hands to form a powerful alliance to fight over the seat of the Merlin Family Patriarch.

At this time, the auction hall felt like a noisy food market.

They were no longer focused on the auction, but instead were all discussing the young mage…

Only a few people were truly focused on the auction.

Such as Lin Yun and Hanson Charlotte.

"1,500,000 golds…" Hanson's voice came from the private room. "Kid, I already told you, Okland isn't Thousand Sails City. Let me see if you are capable of getting this Crystal Page…"

But…

Lin Yun didn't wait for Hanson Charlotte and unhesitantly bid, "2,500,000 golds."

"…" The chatting onlookers fell silent again and looked at Lin Yun with shock.

This was really crazy.

Hanson Charlotte wasn't the only one who wanted to advise Lin Yun. Many people wanted to tell him that the bid of 1,500,000 golds had only been a bit higher than the norm, not a provocation, so there was no need to react like that and add an extra million.

Wasn't this a real, naked provocation?

Even the onlookers couldn't stand this.

How could they not understand Hanson Charlotte's reaction? Not to mention, everyone could hear a fierce cough coming from his private room. He was clearly angry.

After all, something like this Crystal Page would sell at most for 1,000,000 golds in the previous auctions. Yet it reached 1,500,000, before an unreasonable individual directly bid 2,500,000 golds. That was simply a golden slap.

Although Hanson Charlotte was a 9th Rank High Mage, he was very old and was someone with virtue and prestige in Okland. Even Patriarch Ofran considered him an old friend. Yet he was being humiliated by a member of the younger generation and only let out an angry cough, this was being quite restrained already.

Unfortunately, being restrained wouldn't change the conclusion.

After bidding 2,500,000 golds, no one fought with Lin Yun over the Crystal Page and it ended up in his pocket.

Then, he was unstoppable.

Lin Yun met almost no resistance as he pocketed the remaining five lots, because he looked like someone who didn't care about his money, having an endless supply of it.

Now, only the final lot remained, the Star Gem.

The onlookers who had no intention of bidding once again put their focus on that item.

This time, although neither the Black Tower, the Cloud Tower, or any powerhouses on the level of Jouyi and Nolan were participating, those who could enter the auction would rarely be incompetent. The worst ones would still be on the level of Salen Charlotte.

And with their insight and experience, how could they not know the value of that Star Gem?

It was rumored to be the essence of a star left after the star fell. It innately had enormous power, and the value of such a gem itself could match a True Spirit Magic Tool. Not to mention that these gems had the potential for shocking growth. The greatest ability of Star Gems was that they could absorb the power of stars, and whether it was used as a source of mana or as a core for a Magic Tool, they were irreplaceable existences.

In other words, a Magic Tool using a Star Gem could only grow stronger and stronger…

In theory, they could even surpass the True Spirit limit and evolve to the Extraordinary realm.

Any one force that obtained a Star Gem would have a treasure that could be handed down for their future generations.

Especially Great Families… Their thirst for the Star Gem was unquenchable.

The appearance of that Star Gem immediately triggered a bidding war, despite all that had happened just before.

"2,000,000 golds!"

"2,100,000 golds!"

"2,200,000 golds!"

"2,500,000 golds!"

"3,000,000 golds!"Sure enough, just like Hanson Charlotte said, it wasn't that other forces didn't have enough wealth, but rather that the items weren't worthy.

The auction hall, which had been quiet due to that outsider, finally became lively again.

Soon, the price of that Star Gem reached 4,000,000 golds…

And new bids kept appearing one after the other.

"I bid 5,000,000 golds on behalf of the Charlotte Family!" Hanson Charlotte, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised his voice and placed a bid. Moreover, Hanson gave a sincere and earnest warning. "Young man, I already advised you. Being too arrogant isn't good. Did you really think that the wealth that the Charlotte Family accumulated over a millennium wouldn't be able to compare to your Gilded Rose? Truly ridiculous. Watch what a millennial family is capable of…"

Sure enough, Hanson stayed true to his word.

After bidding 5,000,000 golds, Hanson didn't stop and kept bidding fiercely. Soon, the price of the Star Gem reached 7,000,000 golds.

At this time, the bidding war slowly calmed down.

And coincidentally, the ones competing for the Star Gem were still Hanson Charlotte in the northeastern private room and that person in the central private room.

But once the Star Gem's price reached 8,000,000 golds, even the person in the central private room took a long time to ponder between each bid.

After all, this Star Gem had reached an extremely high price…

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Chapter 303: Bidding War

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Even a major force would suffer from using such a large amount of money. Besides those so-called Millennial Families, no one could intervene in this competition.

At this time, almost everyone stopped breathing. Although the bids came less frequently, they knew that this was the most intense part of the auction.

This was the climax.

Whoever gave up first would lose the priceless Star Gem.

Everyone was focused on the auction, stretching their necks to gaze at the two private rooms, waiting for the final bid to appear.

"8,500,000 gods." After a minute of pondering, the voice from the central private room spat out a price.

Then, everyone watched as Hanson Charlotte came out of the northeastern private room with a calm expression. He put one finger up as he said, "Ten million golds. I bid ten million on behalf of the Charlotte Family."

The whole auction erupted with surprised voices.

An unprecedentedly high price had finally appeared in the Black Horn Auction. This was a brand new record, the highest price ever bid in the quarterly auction!

For a moment, everyone looked at Hanson Charlotte with complicated expressions.

All the people present were influential figures in Okland. Even the lowest were rich merchants. Everyone here knew that three hundred years ago, Santon Merlin appeared and dealt with the rare genius of the Charlotte Family before making the Merlin Family abruptly rise. From that point on, the Charlotte Family kept slowly declining.

At their worst, the Charlotte Family even fell to the level of being a 3rd-rate force. During that time, even small bandit groups would dare to rob the Charlotte Family's caravans. It could be seen how badly they had ended up from that event.

This trend continued up until the last century, when the Charlotte Family started re-emerging with the arrival of the Planar Colonization Era. They relied on their millennial foundation to leave their rivals behind and branded the name of the Charlotte Family in numerous planes. They even fought over Okland's Raging Plane Flame. They entered the struggle and successfully occupied five forts. It was then that people suddenly discovered that the Charlotte Family had already somehow returned to being one of the top forces of Okland.

Among the numerous families and clans of Okland, the current Charlotte Family was established as part of the top three, right after the Merlin Family and the Watson Family.

Many people speculated that the original power struggle between the Merlin Family and the Watson Family had already become a three-way conflict because of the abrupt rise of the Charlotte Family. Some were already predicting what an impact it would have on the current balance of power in Okland and felt that the three Families would sooner or later have to battle each other to death. At that time, there would be many lesser forces ready to divide up the loot from the remains.

However…

No one had expected the rise of the Charlotte Family to be so fierce.

Under countless eyes in the Black Horn chamber of commerce, Hanson Charlotte bid a massive sum of 10,000,000 golds…

Everyone knew that this bid not only represented the Star Gem's value, but it was also a demonstration of the Charlotte Family's power and foundation. They were using these 10,000,000 golds to tell everyone that the Charlotte Family was rising once again, that they were a force on par with the Merlin Family and Watson Family.

Their status would definitely rise in Okland after the auction, and they would be compared to the Merlin Family and Watson Family in the future.

Anyone who wanted to question the Charlotte Family would have to think of the pressure put forward by these 10,000,000 golds.

At this moment, Hanson was standing in front of the private room, raising his finger for a very long time with a tranquil expression as he overlooked all the guests from above.

Hanson Charlotte was born during the worst era of the Charlotte Family, when they had degenerated to a 3rd-rate force that was often bullied around. He had always been reminded as a kid that the Charlotte Family had once been one of the major forces of Okland and had once raised a genius on par with Santon Merlin.

Unfortunately, it was all in the past.

It could be said that Hanson Charlotte spent over half of his life basking in the story of the glorious days. All his energy was put into the great undertaking of reviving the Charlotte Family. He would pay any price to bring about the Family's revival.

Finally, the time Hanson Charlotte had been waiting for arrived.

With the start of the Planar Colonization Era, the Charlotte Family suddenly emerged once more, becoming stronger every day. Now, the whole Charlotte Family was looking forward to their future, they were all waiting for the Family to reach Okland's peak once again. Hanson Charlotte knew that this day was fast approaching.

He had been waiting for a hundred years for an opportunity like this one, to be able to bid 10,000,000 golds in the Black Horn Auction, to declare the return of the Charlotte Family.

After announcing his bid, Hanson suddenly felt that this century of waiting had been worth it. As of today, everyone would know that the Charlotte Family's financial resources weren't inferior to anyone else's. Only Hanson could understand this feeling, having desired and striven for it for so long.

"10,000,000 golds from High Mage Hanson Charlotte on behalf of the Charlotte Family. The price has reached 10,000,000 golds, is there any higher bid?"

The Black Horn chamber of commerce's auctioneer was undoubtedly very professional. Although Hanson Charlotte bid 10,000,000 golds and broke the record for the quarterly auctions, he didn't take long to recover and continue his job. He used a goading tone to inquire if anyone would bid higher.

In fact, the auctioneer himself knew that this was futile.

Ten million wasn't just a problem of being expensive, but rather, the amount was so high that even the Merlin Family and the Watson Family wouldn't be able to transfer it in a short time.

Everyone was amazed. The Charlotte Family had stayed inconspicuous for a few centuries before creating a stir overnight, using a shocking bid to announce themselves once more.

Many people looked at the 5th row, or more precisely, at the young man who had gotten seven items in such an unreasonable manner. Some were sneering at him, while others were sympathizing with him.

"Kid, I told you. Okland isn't Thousand Sails City. Well, I already said everything that had to be said…" Hanson's voice was still calm as he continued, "See, 10,000,000 golds, this is an unreachable amount. Can you still compete with me now?"

"High Mage Hanson, you are a bit too much." Lin Yun didn't say anything, but Ross couldn't stand it. "You used three hundred years of your Charlotte Family's savings to compete with my younger cousin over the Star Gem, do you think this is very honorable?"

"Haha…" For the first time, a smile appeared on Hanson's face. "Indeed, I have to admit, I used an exorbitant amount. But so what? You think this is unfair? Kid, this world isn't always fair. When Santon Merlin used his power as a Heaven Mage to sweep through the Charlotte Family, didn't people complain that it was unfair?"

"You…" Ross was speechless. Although he knew that Hanson was twisting the truth, he didn't know how to refute him. He could only stand there in a daze, looking at the proud smile Hanson was exposing.

In the end, Ross could only coldly snort and sit down unwilling.

"I'm sorry, Mafa Merlin, the auction is over." Hanson smiled at Lin Yun, his smile hiding some indescribable glee.

"Who told you that the auction was over?" Lin Yun slowly put down the Crystal Page that he had been examining and glanced at Hanson. He didn't even raise his hand as he announced, "20,000,000 golds."

"How much?!" The auctioneer had already been counting down slowly and the hammer had already been raised… But when he heard Lin Yun's bid, he almost let the hammer fall from his hand.

"Twenty… Twenty million?"

No one thought that the several-century-old record that had just been broken would be broken again by so much just a few minutes later…

Everyone was doubting their ears, wondering if they had misheard. How could it be so excessive? How could a Star Gem reach such a crazy price?

Hanson stood stock still in front of his private room. The smile on his face didn't have time to disappear as it merged with shock. His expression was a weird mix of a crying face and a smiling face.

It took no less than a minute for Hanson to recover and burst out with a shriek, "This is impossible!"

Hanson had completely forgotten himself.

He had just been bathing in the feeling of success as he was teaching a lesson, but he hadn't expected that the other side would be able to respond by bidding such an outrageous amount. That feeling of joy as he stood proudly over everyone in the room was suddenly erased by a slap in the face.

This was a shocking humiliation.

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Chapter 304: Asset Investigation

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

All kinds of emotions were mixed together on his face, making Hanson Charlotte completely lose his poise. He pointed a thin and skinny finger at Lin Yun while screaming crazily, "You cannot possibly bring out 20,000,000 golds! You are just ruining the auction! I request for the Black Horn chamber of commerce to intervene and investigate his assets!"

Hanson's words reminded the others.

He had indeed bid 20,000,000 golds…

Although the young man sitting in the fifth row came from the Merlin Family and owned a very profitable business, he was only in his twenties. Was he truly able to pay 20,000,000 golds?

This seemed irrational.

Hanson Charlotte had been able to bid ten million because the Charlotte Family had been slowly consolidating their wealth and power as they longed to return to being one of the peak forces of Okland. They wanted to display their foundation and power through this auction, it was a joint decision made by the entire Charlotte Family.

But the Merlin Family…

They couldn't do such a thing. Let alone a youth, even Patriarch Ofran would have to fight the Elder Council for a few months before being able to transfer 20,000,000 golds.

How could he bring out so much money?

At this moment, everyone was looking at Lin Yun, the initial shock turning to doubt.

"Yes, I also think that the Black Horn chamber of commerce needs to intervene. You should at least investigate the assets of the guests. Otherwise, anyone would be able to bid several million golds for nothing. How could the auction continue in that case?" The speaker was a wealthy businessman who was close to the Charlotte Family.

"Indeed, the Black Horn chamber of commerce has to give us an account of whether he actually has such resources, or else we won't participate in the next auction…"

With someone taking the lead, there would naturally be sheep that followed. The auction was now echoing with opposing voices.

Ross couldn't help looking at Lin Yun. "Cousin Mafa, if you don't have enough money, I have one million on my Crystal Card…"

Ross' words were very tactful.

After all, they were both children of the Merlin Family, so they should inevitably stand together in front of the Charlotte Family. Not to mention, Ross was still hoping to get that map from Lin Yun.

But being tactful couldn't change the worry and suspicions he held.

"Don't bother," William sneered on the side.

William was the only other person in this auction hall that didn't consider a sum of 20,000,000 golds an issue.

He had followed the rise of the Gilded Rose, so how could he not know how wealthy his younger cousin was?

It was hardly an exaggeration to say that the current Gilded Rose was basically casting gold coins. Not only were they widely expanding, but they were also earning thousands upon thousands of golds each minute.

Not to mention, his younger cousin was an expert at accumulating wealth. William could only watch helplessly as his cousin somehow constantly amassed more and more wealth without needing his help.

Not long ago, William heard Solon of the Sage Tower say that his cousin had fished up a few dozen spirit mana crystals the first time he went to Oddrock City.

Indeed, spirit mana crystals!

With a dozen spirit mana crystals in hand, how could he worry about twenty million golds? Such a joke.

"Alright, sit there and watch the play." William patted Ross' shoulder, not a wisp of worry on his face.

"Watch the play?"

"Yes, just watch."

While the two of them were bickering, a few of the people in charge of the Black Horn chamber of commerce gathered together and started discussing nervously.

Naturally, the discussion regarded how they should investigate the assets of that youth.

After all, the matter was blowing up. Even if the Black Horn chamber of commerce didn't want to intervene, they would still have to. The assets of that youth had to be investigated properly, and the only question was how.

Usually, the investigation would be conducted based on the VIP rank. Ordinary guests would be directly investigated by having the guests show proof that they could pay on the spot. If they couldn't prove this, their bid would be cancelled and they would be expelled from the auction. Of course, this was only the treatment for ordinary guests. When Bronze or Black Iron VIPs had to be investigated, the Black Horn chamber of commerce wouldn't bother inconveniencing them.

The Black Horn chamber of commerce's intelligence network covered all of Noscent. There were very few secrets hidden from them.

Including the Charlotte Family coming to an agreement.

The fact that the Charlotte Family had been hibernating for a few centuries to suddenly display their power today shocked everyone, but the Black Horn chamber of commerce could get information on their properties anytime they wanted. That was one of the reasons the Black Horn chamber of commerce was one of the peak forces in Noscent.

As for Silver and Gold VIPs…

VIPs of such ranks didn't need to have their assets investigated. Their VIP rank proved everything. Even if they didn't even have a copper on them, as long as they had their VIP Voucher, they could bid 1,000,000 golds in an auction and the Black Horn chamber of commerce would help them settle everything if they couldn't produce the money immediately.

This was because being a Silver or Gold VIP meant having a huge background and extraordinary power. For them, the Black Horn chamber of commerce would be willing to spend a lot of money to make them owe them a favor. Sometimes, this kind of favor was far more significant than a few million golds.

Now, the six people in charge of this auction were already sitting together, and the discussion was led by the Archmage in charge.

If it had been a less extreme situation, the discussion wouldn't have been necessary. After all, that young mage had already spent close to 20,000,000 golds on the previous seven items and had paid every single coin. This reached a high enough credit rating to support his last bid of 20,000,000 golds.

But…

This matter was blowing out of proportion. Those 20,000,000 golds were a slap in Hanson Charlotte's face, making him fly in a rage. Even the other guests were asking for that young mage's assets to be investigated. Although the Black Horn chamber of commerce was powerful enough, it wasn't powerful to the point of being able to go against the wishes of all the guests in the auction hall.

This might be unfair to that young mage, as he had proven his wealth but would still be forced to face an asset investigation. It was just as Hanson said… The world wasn't always fair.

On one side were the 9th Rank High Mage of the Watson Family and the guests of the auction hall, while on the other side was a child of the Merlin Family in his twenties. Only a fool wouldn't be able to pick the logical side.

Thus, the discussion was overwhelmingly biased towards investigating the youth's assets right off the bat. Moreover, the reasons were justifiable.

"Our Black Horn chamber of commerce has to take responsibility for our customers. How could we not doubt a VIP guest who is only qualified to sit in the hall, yet still bid twenty million? It's only an investigation of his assets. Moreover, from his previous bids, he should be able to support his claim. Once the investigation is over, we can personally apologize to him.

Of course, they didn't mention what treatment that young mage would suffer if he couldn't support his claim.

"I approve."

"I also approve…"

Soon, of the six people in charge, four agreed to proceed with the asset investigation.

"Alright…" The Archmage nodded and stood up from his seat. "Since everyone is in favor of investigating his assets, Ritch, you should go and set it up."

Of the six people in charge of the auction, Ritch was the one with the lowest qualifications and power. In normal circumstances, Ritch wouldn't even have the qualifications to stand here. But before the auction, Hulad himself had appeared to introduce him, hoping that his disciple would get to gain some experience from attending this auction.

Hulad was highly respected in the Black Horn chamber of commerce, and since he'd already spoken, others wouldn't go against his wishes. And thus, Ritch smoothly became one of the people in charge.

But Ritch knew how to conduct himself. After gaining some power over the auction, he didn't cause any of the problems that youths would often cause. He always acted modestly and worked diligently. He even took the initiative to deal with the odd jobs, and when the other five did something, he would earnestly learn from them. In a dozen days, the other five, including that Archmage, were all full of praises for Ritch.

But today…

After the Archmage arranged the work for him, Ritch didn't immediately go to do it as usual. He instead stayed there with an awkward expression. "This…"

"Hmm?" The Archmage frowned, he looked at Ritch with some dissatisfaction. "Still not going?"

"This… Sir Luther… I think we shouldn't investigate Mafa Merlin's assets…" Ritch hesitated for a bit before managing to speak his mind.

"You think?" The Archmage's frown deepened. His tone was a lot less polite this time. "Is that a joke? Since when is it your turn to think? This is 20,000,000 golds we're talking about. Can you afford to take responsibility if something happens?"

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Chapter 305: There Is No Problem

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"Sir Luther…" Ritch calmly took a step back to avoid Luther's angry splutter. Ritch was well aware of this Archmage's nature. He was actually famous in the Black Horn chamber of commerce for being irritable. Although he was very upright, he didn't have very good connections due to his big mouth.

Ritch's approach was very simple: he would patiently stand there, waiting for Luther's scolding to finish.

"I'm asking you, why do you think that you can vouch for this Mafa Merlin and decide such a great matter? Do you want to cause trouble for your teacher?"

Luther continued scolding him for a few minutes before feeling somewhat thirsty. As he reached for his cup on the table, he found that it was already empty. With a smile on his face, Ritch handed him a cup of water. "Sir Luther, here, some water…"

"…" Luther took the cup before looking at Ritch unhappily. He drank a few mouthfuls, but didn't continue with the scolding after doing so. He slightly calmed down and asked, "Tell me, why do you think so?"

"Sir Luther, please listen to me…" Ritch had long known that this would happen. He wasn't flustered when being questioned by Luther and instead smiled before whispering in Luther's ear, "That Mafa Merlin is a Gold VIP…"

"Gold…!" Luther stood at attention as he realized that he lost self-control in front of everyone for a moment, but he managed to keep the rest to himself.

But that didn't mean that Luther wasn't excited. The Archmage's hands were shaking as he grabbed Ritch's collar. "Come with me…"

"It'll tear, it'll tear, Sir Luther! You are going to tear up my clothes!"

The two of them walked out under the dismayed expressions of the remaining four. They looked at each other, puzzled.

"Tell me, how do you know that he is a Gold VIP…" Luther took Ritch to a quiet room and sat on a chair, waiting for Ritch to explain himself.

"Because I was the one who welcomed High Mage Merlin."

"Hold on, High Mage Merlin?" Hearing this, Luther was startled. "You are saying that this Mafa Merlin is already a High Mage?"

"Yes, Sir Luther, from the information Cadgar sent from Thousand Sails City, this Mafa Merlin is now a High Mage. Moreover, he is more powerful than any High Mage could even hope to be…"

"This…" A High Mage in their early twenties, this was something very frightening. Luther froze there for a long time before helplessly shaking his head. "No wonder he is a Gold VIP… Alright, keep going…"

"Yes, Sir Luther. I personally welcomed High Mage Merlin, and the VIP Voucher he showed was the Moon Song…"

"Moon Song? You are talking about the Moon Song?!" Luther was once again agitated right after calming down. He looked at Ritch for a long time before asking, "You mean the Moon Song that never left the Moon Sage's body?"

"Yes, that Moon Sage's Moon Song…"

"Heavens…" Luther stared at the ceiling in shock. It took him no less than three minutes to recover. "Quick, quick, let's stop those idiots outside! We will be in big trouble if the Moon Sage learns that we investigated the assets of someone he fancied. Shit, that bastard Hanson Charlotte, I'll humiliate him sooner or later…"

Luther cursed as he rushed out of the room, followed by a helpless Ritch.The discussion had quickly ended.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Black Horn chamber of commerce already investigated the assets of VIP Mafa Merlin. There is no problem with it, so the auction shall proceed."

These were a few simple sentences…

But it felt like a bomb exploded in the crowd, creating a stir in the auction hall. No problem… What did this mean? Didn't it mean that this young High Mage's crystal card truly had twenty million golds on it?

Everyone was looking at Lin Yun with lifeless expressions.

It was followed by countless whispers discussing about him. Soon, the audience drafted a legendary and grotesque background for him.

Some people said that he was a chess piece sent by the Merlin Family to Thousand Sails City, and that his purpose was to make a profit from the prosperous sea trade through the eastern estuary.

Some said that this youth was the illegitimate child of a famous figure, and that he was only placed in the care of the Merlin Family temporarily but had now inherited extremely valuable assets.

In any case, all these theories were convoluted and even stranger than what could be found in fictional stories.

"Impossible…" Only Hanson Charlotte couldn't accept this reality.

He couldn't help wanting to doubt it… Lin Yun biding twenty million golds was a huge blow to him.

This wasn't just a matter of getting the Star Gem…

Hanson had waited almost a hundred years to create an opportunity for the Charlotte Family to have a meteoric rise, to display their power and foundation and prove that it could stand alongside the other two Families.

He did manage to achieve this.

His bid of ten million golds did frighten everyone.

It would have been perfect for Hanson if the auction had finished on that note. His goal would have been accomplished, and the Star Gem would have ended up as a True Spirit Magic Tool that would be handed down through generations in the Charlotte Family, giving them a chance to have an Extraordinary Magic Tool.

But unfortunately…

The auction wasn't over.

What happened next went far beyond Hanson's expectations. That young High Mage from the Merlin Family used a crazy price to completely take control of the auction, a price that would make any competitor despair.

Yes, despair.

If he had only bid 11, 12, or perhaps even 15 million, then Hanson would only have gritted his teeth and fought to the bitter end with the opponent, but twenty million was too crazy, to the point that Hanson couldn't even focus anymore.

He could no longer think about fighting against the other side.

Even if Hanson wanted to bid 20,000,000 golds, the Charlotte Family's Elder Council would never agree. That far exceeded what the Charlotte Family could spend.

"Mafa Merlin, I'll definitely make you pay the price…" He had finally made the Charlotte Family stand in the limelight after a hundred years, but it had all been ruined by a crazy bid. At the thought of this, Hanson felt like a viper that had been threatened. He looked at Lin Yun with a scary expression.

The auction ended on his bid.

As Lin Yun said before, the seven items, including the Star Gem, ended up in his hands.

After drawing twenty million from his crystal card, Lin Yun carefully took the Star Gem that Ritch delivered before cautiously putting it in his pocket. After doing so, Lin Yun didn't even bid farewell to Ritch before walking out with Ross and William.

Lin Yun couldn't wait.

Of the seven items he got, six could become Augments of the Doom Staff. With these, the Doom Staff might reach True Spirit Magic Tool rank.

This would be Lin Yun's first genuine True Spirit Magic Tool.

Lin Yun already possessed the Soul Walker, as well as Syudos, who could barely be categorized as a Magic Tool, but regardless of whether it was Sean or Syudos, they weren't custom-made for Lin Yun. This might mean nothing to other people, but to Lin Yun, who liked to 100% in control when battling, this difference was too important.

Magic Tools that weren't tailor-made would always be unsatisfactory in at least some way. Syudos wasn't too bad, as Lin Yun would usually let him display his capacities freely and he was able to display 60 to 70% of his strength. But Sean wasn't worthy in Lin Yun's eyes. Besides being able to trick the ignorant young Xiuban, Sean's existence truly felt inferior as a True Spirit Magic Tool.

This wasn't because Sean wasn't powerful enough.

In fact, if Sean was in the hands of a mage skilled in soul magic, his might would be enough to make anyone reel in shock.

But Lin Yun couldn't use it.

His research on soul magic wasn't very thorough. Lin Yun preferred to control his own power, just like this Doom Staff.

But there was one problem with the Doom Staff.

This was that the six Augments were only magic materials at the moment and were far from being complete Augments. There was a lot of work left to do.

Each of these magic materials was worth more than a million golds, and handling them was extremely complicated. Lin Yun estimated that he would have to spend at least two months to process them.

This was too long.

Thus, Lin Yun thought about it and decided to look for help.

As for who, this wasn't a problem for him.

This was Okland.

Wasn't the holy land of alchemists, the Mercury Tower, in Okland?

Moreover, back in the Ash Tower, Nolan himself had invited him again and again to come to the Mercury Tower. Taking advantage of this matter to visit Okland was a very good choice.

Of course, he would be in charge of planning the processing methods.

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Originally, Lin Yun planned to refer to the Doom Staff he had read about.

Lin Yun had researched the Doom Staff thoroughly, and the more he researched, the more he felt that the creator of the Doom Staff had high attainment in the field of alchemy. The Doom Staff had walked a very simple path.

But it was also rough because of its simplicity.

The Doom Staff described in the books could infinitely strengthen one's casting ability, and once the casting ability was strengthened to its limit, it would reach a realm where the Doom Staff was the world's strongest True Spirit Magic Tool. A mage holding the Doom Staff would be able to ignore all casting difficulty and could cast spells with a flick of their fingers. The lower spells could even be cast instantly.

Moreover, this wasn't the most frightening part. The Doom Staff's Magic Tool Incarnation would also have unrivalled casting ability. How frightening would it be to fight against two such terrifying opponents at the same time?

In those days, the Heaven Rank powerhouse of the Cloud Tower was unrivalled when he held the Doom Staff. He swept across planes and defeated one enemy after the other. Some people even said that if that Heaven Rank powerhouse had been fortunate enough to be born in the same era as Sandro and Charles, he would still be superior to these two legendary powerhouses.

Lin Yun truly wanted to copy this Doom Staff at first.

In fact, copying that Doom Staff wasn't an issue.

He had read countless notes about this Doom Staff in the library and remembered every detail. If he had enough magic materials, he would be able to copy the most powerful Magic Tool within a month.

But…

After entering the Merlin Family's Ancestral Ground and seeing the distant war under the bloodline ceremony, a daring idea sprouted in Lin Yun's mind.

Why was the Doom Staff the most powerful True Spirit Magic Tool?

Why couldn't the Doom Staff break through the limit and become an Extraordinary Magic Tool?

Once this thought came, it never disappeared.

Indeed, the Doom Staff had a Spirit Devourer Behemoth's mana crystal as its core. This mana crystal had frightening capacity, which allowed the Doom Staff to hold as much as 28 Augments, bringing out endless possibilities.

Especially after the huge harvest in the auction just now… This reinforced Lin Yun's decision to try this out.

If he succeeded, the six Augments would make the Doom Staff become a True Spirit Magic Tool. At that time, with 22 Augments left, Lin Yun would have about a 60% chance of transforming the Doom Staff into an Extraordinary Magic Tool.

Naturally, failure was an option.

But even if he failed, he wouldn't have lost too much. He would at most have to give up on his idea and return to copying the Doom Staff from the stories. In any case, with the ability to hold 28 Augments, the Doom Staff would still reign as the strongest True Spirit Magic Tool.

Trying to break away from the Doom Staff that he had read about and instead build a Magic Tool that had the opportunity to reach the Extraordinary realm wasn't a simple undertaking.

Even for someone whose knowledge surpassed the entire era, like Lin Yun, it was only a rough train of thought for now.

Since it was a brand new Doom Staff, it was natural to build it around the Magic Array, because the Magic Array was his foundation, the foundation of his magic path.

After getting that rough idea, he planned the processing of the six magic materials.

To be honest, this was a very costly matter. Each of the six magic materials was a very valuable treasure, and no mistakes could be made if they were used to craft Augments. Lin Yun had to carefully ponder over every detail before finalizing a processing plan.

After the three left the hall, they called a carriage to the Merlin Family Manor. Lin Yun was lost in his plans on the way and didn't speak.

William had always been following Lin Yun blindly and wouldn't dare to speak unless Lin Yun spoke first.

But Ross…

On the way, Ross wanted to speak a few times, but eventually swallowed his words and remained silent because of the silence of the other two. But he was in a complicated mood.

Indeed, Ross had doubts and questions and hoped that they could be answered.

The previous auction was simply too shocking for him.

Originally, Ross had only thought that his distant cousin was a merchant with a few businesses and a decent amount of wealth.

He had heard people saying that Patriarch Ofran had called a young merchant dealing in the alchemy market back to the Family, and Ross had even said some disdainful words when he'd heard that.

In Ross' eyes, the wealth that the Merlin Family needed could be gained from Planar Expeditions, and the Merlin Family's investments in the Raging Plane Flame in the past few years didn't please Ross. The profits one of the two Families of Okland made from the Raging Flame Plane wasn't much different from the Charlotte Family.

Calling back a family member that had been stranded outside the clan for the sake of money felt like a failure to Ross.

It could be said that Ross didn't even put this cousin in his eyes.

On the day he came back, Ross sent someone to cause trouble.

On the surface, Ross was extorting the other side, but in reality, he was expressing his dissatisfaction towards the Family.

But he hadn't expected things to develop like this.

He was beaten in a fair fight by William Merlin, and then Stan Watson unexpectedly died, and now he had participated in an outrageous auction.

Ross discovered that the cousin who had just returned was far more terrifying than he could have imagined.

It wasn't just his wealth.

He might also be extremely powerful.

Otherwise, how could he control such a terrifying flame?

Ross even wondered if the young mage that Anna had talked about was this cousin of his.

Ross suddenly grew scared as he thought of this.

If it truly was like this, then hadn't he been on the verge of death a few times?

He hoped that this wasn't true…

Ross began to feel uncomfortable sitting next to his cousin. It felt as if he had been sitting next to a stove this whole time. Ross only wished for the carriage to reach the Merlin Family Manor so that he could get away from this cousin who held countless secrets.

He even wanted to give up on the map.

But…

The carriage was suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" Ross frowned and opened the carriage's door to take a look, only to see the coachman throwing away his horse whip as he fled while covering his head.

Ross was surprised at first. He only felt a chilling sensation before noticing four people standing 200 meters away.

Hanson Charlotte!

Along with one mage and two archers…

And the chilling sensation that he felt came from the two archers.

Ross was a seasoned combatant. He had participated in several Planar Expeditions, and his sense of danger was like a wild instinct. Seeing these two archers, Ross knew that they were at least 5th Rank Phantom Archers.

Now, the two Phantom Archers were already nocking arrows on their bows. The arrows were giving out a faint blue gleam under the sunlight, and a faint fishy smell spread through the air.

This was the sign of highly toxic poison.

This discovery made Ross' heart sink. As a veteran 5th Rank High Mage, how could Ross not understand how terrifying it would be to face two Phantom Archers that were armed with highly toxic arrows?

This meant that they were ready to use any means to kill their enemy. Fame and honor were far less important than the death of their enemy.

That kind of opponent was definitely the most terrifying.

Not to mention…

There were still two mages standing next to those two archers.

Hanson Charlotte didn't need any introduction. He had already become a 9th Rank High Mage ten years ago, and although he hadn't entered the Archmage realm, he was no pushover. It was actually the opposite. After staying at that realm for ten years, Hanson was one of the most frightening 9th Rank High Mages.

As for the other mage, he was at least a 5th Rank High Mage.

This was a very shocking lineup. Two 5th Rank or above Phantom Archers, one 5th Rank or above High Mage, and Hanson Charlotte. This was a very powerful group.

The two Phantom Archers were already aiming at the carriage, and although the other High Mage hadn't said anything, his hands were firmly gripping his staff. Ross knew that it was the most suitable stance for casting.

"Hanson Charlotte, what do you mean by this?"

"What do I mean?" Hanson Charlotte walked forward a bit before gloomily saying, "Do you really think you can hold onto the Star Gem?"

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Chapter 307: Putting Up a Front

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"You…" Ross' heart sank. With a heavy expression on his face, he said, "Hanson Charlotte, are you looking for a fight?"

As one of the three great talents of the Merlin Family, Ross had obtained a seat at the Elder Council and would usually participate in the Merlin Family's decision making in all kinds of matters, and although he wasn't overly familiar with Hanson Charlotte, they had met a few times.

But Ross truly didn't expect that this old High Mage who had some friendship with Ofran would block their path in such a forceful manner after losing the auction of the Star Gem.

This was crazy…

"Haha, Ross Merlin, I heard that you are one of the most outstanding geniuses of the Merlin Family. I thought that you were someone smart, but I hadn't expected you to be so naive…" Hanson smiled as he saw Ross' reaction.

"Three hundred years ago, Santon Merlin killed Fussen Charlotte in the Aurij Mountains, destroying the hopes and future of the Charlotte Family. A few dozen years later he suppressed the Charlotte Family for half a century through his status as a Heaven Mage, making my Charlotte Family fall from being one of the Three Families, to being a third rate force. From that point on, the Charlotte Family and the Merlin Family became mortal enemies…"

"One should naturally use any means necessary when dealing with their enemies. I am disgusted by Ofran, yet I had to endure for a few centuries, staying low key and not initiating any conflict with the Merlin Family… Did you really think the Charlotte Family and Merlin Family became friends? Oh, Ross, you are so naive…"

Hearing Hanson Charlotte's words, Ross knew that this situation would have a bad end. Hanson's words had revealed the Charlotte Family's ambition. And they didn't plan to fight the Merlin Family right away, so the three who heard about it knew too much.

But Ross had to consider the big picture, and although he felt anxious, he kept his cool.

"You aren't afraid of the Merlin Family investigating this?"

Ross asked while secretly checking the surroundings. Besides those four, the Charlotte Family hadn't brought anyone else. This discovery made Ross sigh in relief. At the moment, that group of four were only blocking the way back to the Merlin Family Manor, they could still flee.

'Right, escape!'

While the two were discussing, Ross made a comparison between both sides' power.

Two Phantom Archers above 5th Rank, one High Mage above 5th Rank, and Hanson Charlotte himself. His strength could only be described as terrifying.

His side on the other hand…

They had a 5th Rank High Mage with the Endless Spring which would only be a bit stronger than the other side's 5th Rank High Mage. As for William, although he had beaten Ross before, in Ross' eyes, that fight wasn't enough to prove anything. He assessed him to be able to block one Phantom Archer at most, this was completely meaningless, the two Phantom Archers could easily kill William.

As for that distant younger cousin…

Ross couldn't determine his strength, but he was in his early twenties, how could he defeat Hanson Charlotte?

Unless…

Unless he was that young mage with the power of an Archmage Anna had talked about.

If he wasn't, their best possible outcome was managing to escape unscathed.

"The Merlin Family's investigation? Haha, Ross, I said that you were too naive yet you refused to acknowledge it. Only you and I know of this whole matter, if I get rid of you, how could the Merlin Family know it was me? Moreover, do you think I'm afraid of the Merlin Family? Let me tell you Ross, within a year, the Merlin Family will fall from its seat at the top. When the time comes, the Merlin Family will get to taste how the Charlotte Family felt back then."

"You think it'll fall because you said so? Who do you think you are…"

"Haha, the Charlotte Family has already…" Hanson seemed to realize that he had said too much and his complacent smile suddenly changed as his expression turned serious once again, "Alright, stop stalling for time, Ross Merlin, and hand over the Star Gem. If the three of you cooperate I might consider keeping you alive, only taking you prisoners."

"Would you be so kind?"

"Of course, before imprisoning you, I'll first cripple your Mana Whirlpool. Oh right, I think you know about the Black Rock Plane the Charlotte Family gained a few years ago? All kinds of ores are quarried there and I'm thinking of sending you there. What do you think? After all, apart from mining and enduring occasional whiplashes, you wouldn't have to worry about losing your life. Our Charlotte Family gives good treatment to slaves, they get two loaves of bread and a big bottle of fresh water every day. I really want to see the youngest genius of the Merlin Family who could casually take out twenty million golds beg in order to get one more piece of bread or a mouthful of water…"

The more Hanson Charlotte talked, the more excited he became. It felt like he was venting for the humiliation he suffered at the auction, his expression seeping with craziness as he looked at Ross as if he was a prey to hunt.

"Let's see if you have the ability…" A smile suddenly appeared on Ross' face.

Ross had been silently casting while Hanson was blabbering and managed to complete a Fire Dragon spell.

Moreover, it was a Fire Dragon nurtured by the Endless Spring.

This Fire Dragon spell had beaten countless opponents in Ross' hands and suppressed William in the Merlin Family manor before.

This was the spell Ross Merlin had the most confidence in.

Ross opened his hand, revealing a flame hovering in his palm. As long as he shouted the last character, this flame would blossom with shocking power.

But he didn't even have time to shout that character before a sharp sound echoed in his ear.

Ross only felt coldness, like falling into an icy cave. One of the arrows carrying a fishy smell flew out and swept past Ross' head before lodging itself in the carriage with a reverberating sound.

He only needed one character to release that Fire Dragon, but Ross was unable to finish his incantation nevertheless.

Because he knew that since that arrow could graze him, it naturally could lodge itself into his skull.

That was an open warning.

"Now, hand over the Star Gem!" Hanson glanced at Ross, "I can spare your lives as long as you hand over the Star Gem, I'll only imprison you in the Black Rock Plane. But if you aren't sensible enough… You'll die here today."

"…" Ross didn't answer…

That arrow already demonstrated that the strength of these two archers was higher than he had imagined, they might have already reached 9th Rank.

This wasn't something the three Merlins could withstand.

"Don't listen to him…" At this time, William slowly walked down the carriage, "You really think he would dare to kill the three of us? He is only putting on a front, he is afraid we put the Star Gem in a Spatial Magic Tool. How would he be able to open it if we died? Would they try brute force?"

"You…" Hanson's expression froze. William's words were exactly what Hanson was worrying about. He had delayed so much because he wanted the three of them to hand over the Star Gem on their own.

"William Merlin, you are quite good. You reasoning is correct, but so what if I can't kill you on the spot? I can still capture you and send you to Black Rock Plane and make those beast like Black Rock Beastmen abuse and torment you. I would like to see how long you could handle this. Three days might be enough for you to rush over while weeping and kneel in front of me while begging me to take that Star Gem from your hands…"

"Haha, three days isn't a problem, but I'm worried someone isn't that patient…" William didn't pay attention to Hanson any longer as he smiled while walking back towards the carriage.

"Capture them!" Being ignored like that infuriated Hanson Charlotte, it made him recall the humiliation he suffered in the auction and his face distorted.

After he said so the two Phantom Archers immediately made a move.

The two poisonous arrows tore through the air, moving like lightning and leaving two blue lines in their path, showing the power they burst with.

"Shit…" Ross instantly cursed. He knew that he hadn't guessed wrong, they really were 9th Rank Phantom Archers, otherwise these two arrows wouldn't have burst with such power.

Ross didn't have much time to think, he instantly cast his Runic Shield after cursing.

When Ross had beaten William, he had taken advantage of the fact that William used his Runic Shield prematurely to gain the upper hand before defeating him.

It was because Ross knew that Runic Shield was the one spell a High Mage couldn't use negligently, once a High Mage used their Runic Shield, they would lose their trump card.

But Ross couldn't care about this right now, if he hadn't used Runic Shield, those two powerful arrows would have pierced his body.

The Runic Shield was cast the instant the arrows were shot.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Two heavy sounds echoed as the dazzling Runic Shield became indented by the two arrows.

The originally perfectly curved Runic Shield had completely deformed under the impact of the two arrows, finally managing to stop them a few centimeters from Ross' body.

Ross managed to block the two arrows.

But Ross' expression wasn't relaxed at all.

He could see that the radiance of his Runic Shield had dimmed considerably under the attacks of the two arrows. Ross estimated that he would only be able to defend against three such volleys at most.

That's right, three…

After three volleys, Ross would no longer be protected by the Runic Shield and would be exposed to the other side's arrows.

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Chapter 308: Earth Rending Hand

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Ross reacted quickly.

He released the Fire Dragon he had prepared beforehand just as these two arrows were blocked.

A dazzling circle of flames could be seen rising under the two Phantom Archers, the ground turned red hot under the intense flames and the temperature jumped so high that the effects could only be described as earth-shattering.

Flames rising, Dragon ascending.

This was the Fire Dragon Ross had cast numerous times, he was more familiar with that Fire Dragon spell than anyone else. But it was the first time Ross was so nervous.

He would have a chance as long as the Fire Dragon appeared.

The Fire Dragon would stall the two Phantom Archers and buy valuable time.

'Quick, quick…'

Those few seconds of waiting were a torture for Ross.

Finally, an earth-shattering Dragon Roar echoed as flames rose up within several dozen meters.

"Finally…" Ross suddenly relaxed. With the appearance of the Fire Dragon, even 9th Rank Phantom Archers would have no choice but to temporarily give up.

But…

A blue icy mist suddenly rose.

"Shit…" Ross' heart sank, "It's over…"

Sure enough, following the appearance of that icy mist, an Ice Dragon echoed the roar of the Fire Dragon as he rose up from the earth. It bared its fangs at the Fire Dragon before both spells entangled themselves.

"Ross Merlin, you are too young…" Hanson held his staff, sneering at Ross while guiding his Ice Dragon.

The two Phantom Archers once again nocked their arrows.

And this time, Ross could see several runes floating around the two arrowheads.

Those were Moon Marks.

The most powerful ability of Phantom Archers past 5th Rank. With the power of True Sight, they could use Moon Marks to lock onto their enemies. Anyone under the effect of a Moon Mark would be unable to hide, even if they tore through space and entered a spatial crack, those two arrows would still be able to follow.

"It's over…" Ross knew that this was over.

In a split second, Ross urged his mana to strengthen the Runic Shield.

In fact, it was already futile.

The Runic Shield had already dimmed, and even if it had been strengthened, it wouldn't be able to handle two arrows infused with Moon Marks, Ross' effort was in vain.

The Moon Marks were becoming brighter and brighter as more and more runes started appearing on the arrowheads.

Ross closed his eyes when the sound of the bowstring being released echoed.

Everything was over.

Time seemed frozen.

'Wait, why is it taking so long?'

After some time, Ross suddenly realized that too much time had passed and even if the two Phantom Archers wanted to play with him, it shouldn't have lasted so long.

Thus, he cautiously opened his eyes.

Only to see a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A young mage walked past him, he was holding two arrows in his hand which he casually threw to the ground after glancing at them. The countless Moon Marks on the arrowheads hadn't disappeared. Even if the arrows were still a dozen meters from him, he could still feel the power contained within.

Yet, those two arrows seemed no better than trash to that young mage as he just threw them to the side.

Panic appeared on the face of the two icy Phantom Archers. They drew their bows once again, displaying their power as 9th Rank Phantom Archers, firing one arrow after the other in quick succession, sending them to tear through the air as one skill after another was cast.

Fire Arrow, Ice Arrow, Continuous Shooting, Chaotic Shooting, Lightning Shot, Sky Shot.

The two Phantom Archers bursting with all their strength could only be described as gorgeous. At this time, the entire battlefield was filled with magnificent lights and shadows. Ross, who just came close to dying, couldn't help being dumbstruck. These were genuine 9th Rank Phantom Archers.

If these two had went all out earlier, his Runic Shield wouldn't have been strong enough to last ten seconds.

But now, Ross found out that such a burst was nearly non-existent in front of the young mage. No matter how many arrows the two Phantom Archers sent, they were unable to harm the young mage.

The young mage's footsteps were very slow, and he walked perfectly straight.

But strangely, not one arrow hit its target.

It gave the feeling that the arrows were actively avoiding him.

Naturally, the arrows couldn't avoid him by themselves.

The only rational explanation was that the young mage who seemed to be walking slowly was actually walking in the gaps between the arrows.

This thought was simply horrifying.

Ross was shocked, he hadn't thought he would be able to see such a miraculous scene in his life. This was turning combat into art!

"Cousin William isn't wrong. I truly have no patience…" Lin Yun said as he went through the rain of arrows.

Then…

A large black hand suddenly appeared.

An explosion could be heard, making everyone shiver.

The black hand appeared unexpectedly, not giving the two Phantom Archers time to react before they were firmly pressed against the ground.

This was a 5th Rank spell, Earth Rending Hand.

During the peak of the magic era, that spell could smash the earth to pieces.

Although Lin Yun was still far from those mages, that Earth Rending Hand was still impressive. The two Phantom Archers didn't even have time to scream before they turned into corpses.

"Heavens…" Ross was stupefied.

The two Phantom Archers couldn't even retaliate, they didn't even last ten seconds in front of his younger cousin…

"This is impossible!" Hanson immediately screeched.

Hanson Charlotte already stopped controlling the Ice Dragon and let it continue its fight with the Fire Dragon, but even after getting his hands free, Hanson Charlotte felt that he was having a nightmare.

The Charlotte Family had worked hard to painstakingly nurture those two Phantom Archers, that was the most secret force of the Charlotte Family… If not for the Star Gem being too important, Hanson Charlotte wouldn't have been able to mobilize them.

But he never expected that these two 9th Rank Phantom Archers would die the moment they appeared on the battlefield due to an Earth Rending Hand.

'Shit, that's only a 5th Rank Spell!'

'How could it be!'

'Although archers' physical strength wasn't as good as warriors', how could they not be proficient in melee combat and body techniques after reaching the Phantom Archer rank? Although they couldn't compare to warriors, how could they not resist a simple Earth Rending Hand?'

'This is illogical…'

'Unless…'

'Unless they didn't put up any resistance when facing that Earth Rending Hand.'

'But how could it be? 9th Rank Phantom Archers are proficient in all kinds of body techniques. Whether it is Moon Shadow Incarnation or Smoke Incarnation, they both could allow them to escape in a split second…'

"They may have been too careless…" Lin Yun saw through Hanson Charlotte's thoughts and provided an answer.

But Ross who had been standing behind Lin Yun hadn't seen that when his cousin said this sentence, a roulette made of endless runes flashed at the top of his head.

Of those present, only William knew that this roulette was his younger cousin's Magic Conducting Rune.

But even William only knew that it was a Magic Conducting Rune.

No one knew that this Magic Conducting Rune was called the Magic Array.

Moreover, its shape came from ten Magic Arrays fused together.

This was the first time Lin Yun used this newly shaped Magic Array. The power bursting out for the Magic Array working at full power shocked even Lin Yun. It also allowed Lin Yun to walk unimpeded through the rain of arrows and clutch at their throats so that they couldn't use Moon Shadow Incarnation or Smoke Incarnation and escape from the Earth Rending Hand.

The power of the Magic Array was ten times stronger than before.

But there was no need to explain that to Hanson Charlotte.

After killing the two Phantom Archers, Lin Yun stopped and smiled at Hanson Charlotte, "High Mage Hanson, I have a question for you…"

"What… What do you want to ask!" Hanson was already panicking.

Even in his wildest dreams, Hanson would have never expected that this nouveau riche who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth would have such frightening power.

In an instant, he killed two of the 9th Rank Phantom Archers that the Charlotte Family had painstakingly nurtured. That kind of power could only be described as terrifying.

Although this young High Mage was only standing before him, not casting, not moving, the pressure Hanson Charlotte felt was worse than facing a dozen Ross Merlins.

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Chapter 309: Thousand Souls Sacrifice

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"I heard the Charlotte Family has a True Spirit Magic Tool called the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, is this the case?"

"You, you…" The question Lin Yun asked sounded quite ordinary, but Hanson felt as if he had seen a ghost. His face turned pale as he slowly retreated, his eyes full of fear and alarm as he stared in fright. "How did you know!?"

"Ah?" Lin Yun was surprised at first before figuring out that he misremembered the time. The Thousand Souls Sacrifice had yet to become famous in this era.

This was a secret that lasted a millennium.

It would have normally been another hundred years before that Magic Tool whose power could exceed True Spirit Magic Tools would shock the whole Noscent.

Moreover, it was also an Augment.

"Impossible, Impossible…" Hanson didn't know about any of that, but once Lin Yun said the words 'Thousand Souls Sacrifice', Hanson lost his mind. He was terrified and kept mumbling, "Impossible, impossible, impossible…"

It made sense for Hanson to be scared like that, because after all, the existence of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice might be one of the most important secrets of the Charlotte Family. The Charlotte Family had obtained that True Spirit Magic Tool over a millennium ago.

But the Thousand Souls Sacrifice didn't bring any benefit to the Charlotte Family…

This sounded a little weird.

A True Spirit Magic Tool's power was comparable to that of an Archmage. It should be able to display frightening power even in the hands of an ordinary person, so with this kind of world-shaking power, how could the Charlotte Family not get any benefits?

But Hanson Charlotte knew that this truly was the case.

For the past millennium, the Charlotte Family thought of every possible way to satisfy that sinister Magic Tool Incarnation.

Only those who had seen that Magic Tool Incarnation knew how sinister it was. In the Charlotte Family, some were regretful while others were cursing. The regretful ones regretted having provoked that Magic Tool Incarnation, while the cursing ones were cursing that monster to go to hell earlier.

Hanson became a High Mage at fifty and gained the ability to join the core of the Charlotte Family. It was also the first time he came into contact with the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, the first time he saw that sinister Magic Tool Incarnation.

Hanson Charlotte could still remember.

At the time, he had entered the Charlotte Family Ancestral Land, a place filled with skeletons and blood, and which was permeated by a thick, bloody smell.

There, he saw a monster reeking of sulfur and iron, formed only by a skeleton and blood. It displayed a malevolent smile at him.

At the time, Hanson had been completely terrified.

A few decades later, he still couldn't remember exactly what sacrifice he had offered to the monster or how he managed to leave the bloody and skeletal Ancestral Land.

Hanson could only remember that the monster had been very pleased with his sacrifice and had let out delighted laughter from within the blood and bones.

Then, as he grew stronger and stronger, his position in the Charlotte Family rose higher and higher and he gradually gained the right to know of some secrets.

This was when Hanson learnt that the terrifying monster had been the Thousand Souls Sacrifice's Magic Tool Incarnation and that a millennium ago, the evil Magic Tool Incarnation signed a contract with the ancestor of the Charlotte Family. It agreed to serve the children of the Charlotte Family at suitable times, but in exchange, the Charlotte Family's offspring had to keep sacrificing fresh flesh to it.

For the past thousand years, that evil Incarnation had been like a black hole. The Charlotte Family had to use every kind of method to satisfy it, especially with Santon Merlin's appearance. During the last two centuries, that evil incarnation had truly been the worst nightmare of the Charlotte Family.

At the time, the Charlotte Family didn't even have time to look after themselves. How could they get enough fresh flesh? After failing to meet the quota three times in a row, the evil Incarnation was thoroughly angered and caused carnage in the Ancestral Land, obliterating most of the Ancestral Land.

In the end, the Patriarch of the Charlotte Family appeared and personally entered the Ancestral Land before having a long talk with that monster. No one else knew the contents of that discussion. They only knew that the Patriarch looked a few dozen years older when he left the Ancestral Ground. He spent an entire night in the room, and when he came out in the morning, half of his hair was white.

Then, the Patriarch gave an order that made everyone feel cold.

Countless children of the Charlotte Family's side branches were recalled and informed that they were to be given an extremely rare opportunity. They could enter the Ancestral Land and accept the ancestor's baptism. If they were lucky, they might be able to obtain the purest bloodline of the Charlotte Family.

And then…

And then nothing.

None of the children who entered the Ancestral Land came out.

The next day, a servant opened the door to the Patriarch's room and saw his master lying in a pool of blood. That was the first time a Patriarch had killed himself in the Charlotte Family's history.

From that point on, the Charlotte Family classified the Thousand Souls Sacrifice as the most deeply kept secret. Unless they were part of the core of the Charlotte Family, no one would know about it.

Hanson Charlotte had always been sure that this was a secret only known to a few members of the Charlotte Family, so he had never thought that a young mage from the Merlin Family would mention it.

It was natural for him to be shocked.

Now, the first thought in Hanson's mind was that the existence of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice was already known to the Merlin Family.

But then, Hanson realized that this shouldn't be the case. The Merlin Family couldn't have known of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice. They would have had too many opportunities to force the Charlotte Family into a hole that they would never be able to escape from.

He might have had some relations with Ofran, but for the sake of the Family's benefits, he would be able to unhesitantly rob them of the Star Gem. This was how conflicts between Families worked. It was just like Santon Merlin of those past years. Even though the Charlotte Family had already expressed allegiance, once he reached Heaven Rank, he still unhesitantly destroyed the Charlotte Family's power base and reduced that millennial clan to a 3rd rate force.

Was this because there was irreconcilable hatred between Santon Merlin and the Charlotte Family? Of course not. This was because the Charlotte Family's existence blocked the path of the Merlin Family. If a Heaven Mage also appeared in the Charlotte Family, they would do the same.

But if the Merlin Family didn't know of the existence of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, then why?

How could that young mage in his twenties know so much?

"Haha, you are asking me how I know? Sorry, this is a secret that cannot be shared." Lin Yun smiled, as this was indeed a secret that couldn't be shared. He certainly couldn't tell Hanson that he knew about the existence of Thousand Souls Sacrifice because he was from the future.

That was when he learnt that the Charlotte Family sank into eternal damnation. At that time, the Charlotte Family had finally offered enough fresh flesh, making everyone feel overjoyed, as they thought that they could finally use and control the power of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice…

But, they were clueless.

The power of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice wasn't something they could control. Once it had enough sacrifices, it became a crazy and bloodthirsty monster that reached True Spirit rank. The first time it left the Ancestral Land was to inflict a big blow on the Merlin Family.

The Charlotte Family was delighted after their old enemy suffered so badly and held a long feast for three days and nights to celebrate. But on the last day of that feast, the Thousand Souls Sacrifice burst in and turned the celebration into a funeral. The elites of the Charlotte Family died overnight.

When someone reached the square the next day, only bones and limbs could be seen scattered everywhere. Blood flowed on the square, turning the earth crimson. A monster was amidst the limbs, chewing while laughing heartily.

It was a very terrifying scene.

From that day on, Thousand Souls Sacrifice wreaked havoc throughout Okland and perpetrated countless massacres. The number of lives it swallowed reached a point where it could be compared to a major natural disaster. Ten years later, the Cloud Tower had a Heaven Rank powerhouse abruptly rise up and catch the track of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice in the Aurij Mountains. After an arduous battle, the Thousand Souls Sacrifice's Incarnation was thoroughly destroyed and the Magic Tool itself was brought back to the Cloud Tower.

A few years later, that Heaven Rank powerhouse gained control of the Black Death Rune. At that time, Black Death Rune was already different from the one that Lin Yun had borrowed. The greatest difference was that it had an Augment that was at True Spirit rank.

That True Spirit Augment was extremely powerful and it burst with extraordinary energy when used in battle. It followed the Heaven Mage as they conquered one plane after another, making the Cloud Tower's name echo through Noscent.

After thousands of years, people finally learnt that this True Spirit Augment attached to the Black Death Rune was the Thousand Souls Sacrifice.

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Chapter 310: Monster

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

All this had yet to happen, and Hanson would naturally not know that Lin Yun had learnt everything from a book.

Hanson was truly terrified… A young High Mage from the Merlin Family actually knew the deepest secret of the Charlotte Family. This was truly disastrous for them. 'No, I can't let him leave this place alive! I have to silence him before the Merlin Family learns of this…'

As he panicked, Hanson no longer cared about the Star Gem.

What was the Star Gem compared to the survival of the Charlotte Family?

"Mafa Merlin, you forced my hand!" Hanson held his staff firmly and chanted a prayer that sounded like an offering. His entire body became twisted as black smoke started pervading his body, reeking of blood and sulfur.

Amidst the black smoke, Hanson Charlotte let out a bestial roar, a roar mixed with pain and elation, with some traces of a screeching noise, as if something had been torn open. The scariest part was that even Ross, who was dozens of meters away, could feel a sinister and frightening aura rising.

Finally, the black smoke completely dispersed.

"Heavens…" Ross couldn't help holding his breath as he saw what was happening.

No, it wasn't just Ross…

Even the 5th Rank High Mage accompanying Hanson was terrified as he saw that happening.

The magic staff in his hand hit the ground. He became deathly pale as he slowly staggered back while mumbling nonsensical words.

"Monster, monster, monster…"

Yes, what came out of the black smoke was a monster.

It was covered in numerous black scales, had a long tail swaying behind it, and two curved horns could be seen on its sinister head. It didn't look human at all.

"Trash!" With a low roar, the monster's tail coiled around the 5th Rank High Mage and dragged the struggling mage closer. The monster extended a hand covered in black scales… It gently twisted, and the High Mage's neck was snapped.

"The Charlotte Family doesn't need the kind of trash that runs during a battle…" After snapping the neck of that 5th Rank High Mage, the monster casually tossed the body away before looking over to Lin Yun with a savage and bloodthirsty gaze. "Hehehehe, Mafa Merlin, I'll give you one last chance… Hand over the Star Gem…"

"Your acting skills are terrible…" Lin Yun displayed a helpless smile.

Lin Yun really wanted to take out a mirror to let Hanson Charlotte see his demonic appearance. He even killed someone on his own side, so how could he let them off if they gave up the Star Gem? Not even a child would be tricked by this.

"Hahaha, hahaha, Mafa Merlin, you are smarter than I thought." Hearing Lin Yun's answer, the monster stopped being long-winded and let out a low roar before pouncing at Lin Yun.

The speed and power Hanson showed in that split second wasn't the least bit inferior to that of a Sword Saint. The smell of sulfur and blood reached Lin Yun in an instant, followed by snapping sound as the long tail lashed out. That tail covered in black scales looked like a black python as it coiled around Lin Yun, leaving afterimages behind.

"Shit," Ross suddenly cursed. After Hanson turned into a monster, his strength had increased almost ten times.

Not to mention, he wasn't just reeking of blood and sulfur, he also emitted enormous mana fluctuations.

These mana fluctuations far surpassed the power of a 9th Rank High Mage.

Ross could feel that Hanson's power most likely was in the Archmage realm too.

This was a monster who was both an Archmage and a Sword Saint.

Ross had seen hope, before it got extinguished by Hanson Charlotte's transformation.

That power was too frightening.

Hanson was ten times stronger compared to the two 9th Rank Phantom Archers and that 5th Rank High Mage.

When the tail coiled around Lin Yun, Ross only felt despair. 'We are doomed, doomed, this is the end. Even if Mafa could surpass a High Mage, how could he manage to struggle out of this situation? That 5th Rank High Mage wasn't able to do anything…'

"Hmm?" As Ross was despairing, the situation suddenly changed. Hanson, who had thought he'd snatched the initiative by entangling Lin Yun, suddenly issued an angry roar.

The tail that had been coiled around Lin Yun instantly slackened as he swiftly raised his arm and used his sharp elbow to hit Lin Yun's face.

A disgusting sound echoed as Lin Yun's head was smashed to bits.

But…

There was no blood nor brain matter. It was like Hanson's heavy blow hit nothing but air. The corpse and smashed head turned into a strand of cyan smoke, fading instantly.

Ross' eyes shone as he saw a ball of fire streaking for Hanson's back. His younger cousin was covered in flames with a book emitting a frightening aura in one hand and a magic staff embedded with a huge gem in the other.

'Gem…' Ross was in a daze before finally connecting everything together. 'That's Elemental Amber!'

From what Anna said, the young mage who killed Stan Watson had a staff with an Elemental Amber!

'It was… It was Cousin Mafa!'

Ross was stunned on the spot, unable to say anything as he looked at Lin Yun, who was covered in flames.

'That's right, Anna's description of that young mage fit perfectly… Elemental Amber, using Elemental Incarnation, and walking as if he was the one in control of everything.

Ever since they left the auction hall, Ross had been inwardly guessing that his younger cousin might have been the young mage with the power of an Archmage.

Now, Ross finally saw that Elemental Amber.

It took time, but he had guessed correctly.

This younger cousin was the one who killed Stan Watson.

Ross Merlin felt somewhat complicated. He recalled the ridiculous conditions he'd offered, as well as his confident proposal that he would act to help the Gilded Rose three times.

How could Ross raise such conditions if he had known that this distant younger cousin was the young mage who killed Stan Watson, how could he be so bold? This was an existence on par with Archmages. Let alone acting three times, even three hundred times wouldn't be worth it for him.

While Ross was in such a state of mind, Hanson also completed his Elemental Incarnation. The instant Elemental Incarnation was cast, the temperature suddenly dropped. The scorching weather turned into a world of ice and snow, and Hanson himself was now covered by a layer of frost. He was like an Ice Giant, looking down on Lin Yun.

"Mafa Merlin, you truly amazed me…" Hanson's roar even seemed a bit chilly.

This showed that Hanson's power had completely reached the Archmage realm. How else could he use Ice Elemental Incarnation to this degree? The mana fluctuations he released were affecting the surroundings!

"Hehe, Hanson Charlotte, you also amazed me, I never expected you to become so ugly…"

"Hahahaha, Mafa Merlin, snarky comments are useless now. Yes, I admit that you are powerful, far more powerful than I expected, but what about it? I used the sacrifices I accumulated over a hundred years to trade for my current power! Don't you feel that my current strength is almost perfect? This is the perfect combination of the martial path and the magic path. You think you still have some chance? I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. I devoured the flesh of many Merlin children over the years, but it will be the first time I'll be devouring one as powerful as you. When I tear you to shreds and chew you up, that sweet blood filling my mouth… How wonderful will it taste?"

Hanson took a step forward after saying that, his step shaking the earth. Hanson's Ice Giant Incarnation looked like a God. Its strength and magic perfectly combined, making every movement burst with frightening power.

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Chapter 311: Frost Giant

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The average person might think that besides his astonishing strength, this Frost Giant wasn't anything special, but Lin Yun knew that this was the true shape of Elemental Incarnation: frightening speed, shocking power, and a mighty body. Every little movement would stir the surrounding ice elements. It wasn't far from the ultimate form of Elemental Incarnation.

The Elemental Incarnation that Hanson was displaying was even stronger than Lin Yun's. After all, Lin Yun had just entered the High Mage realm, so his control over his Elemental Incarnation was far from being complete.

"Drop dead!" The Frost Giant's roar made the surrounding ice elements stir frantically. Even Lin Yun's flames seemed to dim for a moment.

At the same time, the Frost Giant's hands slammed on the ground, creating a large hole and scattering a large volume of rocks in the surroundings.

After the heavy slam of the Frost Giant, the surrounding ice particles moved amidst cold gales, forming several dozen tornados in which chunks of ice were spinning. They instantly blocked Lin Yun's way out.

Moreover, this was only the beginning.

Hanson didn't stop after summoning the ten tornados. His ice-covered arm suddenly stretched, and a Frost Lance that was a few meters long shot out of his hand.

It was followed by a loud sound as the lance emitted a thunderous rumble. That kind of thunderous power would even amaze Dragons. With such power, the Frost Lance moved like lightning and only a blue gleam of light could be seen.

"Heavens…" Ross was stunned. A fight on this level far exceeded his understanding.

The power of a 5th Rank High Mage was no different from a baby in a fight of this level. Ross simply didn't have any opportunity to intervene and could only watch as Hanson summoned dozens of ice tornadoes and threw this overwhelmingly imposing lance at his younger cousin.

The power Hanson Charlotte was showing far surpassed Ross' comprehension. It was too powerful and too frightening. Ross simply couldn't imagine what his younger cousin could do against this Frost Lance.

Ross was stunned as the Frost Lance tore through the air.

'It's over, we are finished…"

The only way his cousin might perhaps be able to hold up would be to use Runic Shield, just like William in the Merlin Family Manor.

But if the protection of the Runic Shield was used up this early…

Then his younger cousin wouldn't be far from being defeated.

'Be careful…'

Ross tightly clenched his hand, attentively watching that lightning-fast Frost Lance.

Immediately after, Ross heard a loud explosion…

"Fuck," Ross cursed, because he could hear that this was the sound of the Frost Lance hitting a shielding spell.

Sure enough, after Ross opened his eyes, he saw the Frost Lance turning into countless chunks of ice as it was blocked just in front of his younger cousin.

It really was a Runic Shield.

Ross closed his eyes in despair. Since the Runic Shield was out of the picture, the battle might have already been lost.

Because Hanson's control over ice magic was close to omnipotent in this Ice Elemental Incarnation form. He only needed to say one character for him to cast countless 3rd Tier Spells like Frost Lance.

And sure enough…

Just as the first Frost Lance burst, another one appeared in Hanson's hands, flying with the same lightning speed and thunderous rumble. The second Frost Lance tore through the air, aiming at Lin Yun.

Then there was a 3rd, and a 4th, and a 5th.

Each Frost Lance made Ross' heart sink, because he knew that his cousin's Runic Shield couldn't handle many more attacks. The next Frost Lance might tear through the barrier and pierce his chest.

'Sharp Mind! Sharp Mind! Faster, faster…' Ross' clothes were drenched in cold sweat, nervousness and anxiousness apparent on his face.

Sharp Mind was the only way for his distant cousin to stay in the fight.

Only by relying on Sharp Mind's calculation power could he optimize the consumption of the Runic Shield. Every second that could be gained would be very important in a battle of this level, it would give his younger cousin more time to survive and come up with a way to come back.

'Damn, why aren't you using Sharp Mind?!'

Ross couldn't understand what his younger cousin was thinking. Yet he was somehow resisting the crazy Frost Lance assault while dodging the ice tornadoes, and throwing some fire spells back.

It was an amazing performance!

Seeing this, Ross felt like cursing, 'There are tornadoes everywhere, Frost Lances in front, and your Runic Shield has already started to dim! What you should do is use Sharp Mind to gain time to be able to use a second Runic Shield, not waste time casting fire spells. What's the point of casting fire spells in such a situation?

'Are you trying to make some fireworks to celebrate Hanson's victory? Are you trying to prepare a barbecue feast for him?'

Ross had truly given up.

Ross originally felt that this young distant cousin had to be extremely powerful for him to be able to kill Stan Watson while he was under the Red Dragon Mercenary Group's protection. Even if he couldn't defeat Hanson Charlotte with that strength, he shouldn't be too far from being able to gain enough time to flee, right?

Now, Ross Merlin felt that he had been wrong…

Indeed, the strength displayed by that younger cousin truly was Archmage-level.

But from the way the battle was proceeding, that younger cousin's fighting skills were lagging far behind his strength. This was truly annoying… He had the strength but couldn't use it effectively, what did this mean?

'What a pity… I'm not strong enough…' Ross truly wished that he was the one with the power of an Archmage.

Ross believed that if he was the one using Elemental Incarnation, that battle wouldn't be so lopsided.

At least, his control and fighting abilities were far higher than those of his distant cousin.

If he stepped up onto the stage, he wouldn't end up in such tragic circumstances and have to just wait for his death. He had many ways to struggle under Hanson's hands, and even if he lost, he wouldn't lose so tragically.

Just what was this lousy performance…

He had cast a dozen seemingly random fire spells so far and shrouded the surroundings in fire. It did look very astonishing, but what was the point?

Hanson Charlotte's Ice Elemental Incarnation was that of a Frost Giant. It was a high-tier shape of Elemental Incarnation. Let alone turning the surroundings into a swathe of ordinary flames, even if the flames were extremely pure instead, the Frost Giant's body which rivalled Gods in toughness simply wouldn't feel them.

Unless these flames were powerful enough to defeat an Archmage…

But if he really could crush an Archmage, why would he let Hanson Charlotte be so annoying? With enough power, a simple Wind Blade would be enough to take Hanson's life.

'It's over, the Runic Shield's light completely disappeared….'

"Younger Cousin, use that fire Magic Tool quickly!" Ross was so anxious that he couldn't stop himself from shouting, at the risk of drawing Hanson's attention.

Unfortunately, Ross' shout was completely ignored. Whether it was Lin Yun or Hanson, they didn't even spare a glance at him…

At this moment, the protective barrier over Lin Yun's flaming form dissipated.

And Hanson was preparing another Frost Lance.

That Frost Lance might pierce Lin Yun's chest anytime.

But Lin Yun didn't seem worried. The ice tornadoes and the swathes of fire formed a hell of frost and flames.

"Mafa Merlin, I shall see how long you can keep supporting it!" Hanson Charlotte let out another roar as another Frost Lance was thrown.

This was the final blow!

"Ten seconds left…" Lin Yun's voice was so low that even Hanson, who was facing him, didn't hear it. The young High Mage faced this deadly Frost Lance and still had time to say something.

But, it didn't matter if the others heard his words.

Just as Hanson made a move, a dazzling light appeared on Lin Yun's body.

It was a Runic Shield!

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Chapter 312: Sea of Flames

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

What happened?

Whether it was Ross Merlin or Hanson Charlotte, they both couldn't help being stunned when they saw that Runic Shield, it was illogical, how could a Runic Shield appear? The two were high mages, how could they not know of spells cooldown and mana exhaustion of channelled spells? Those were knowledge that every mage should know of, it was already deeply ingrained into the minds of Hanson and Ross, making them subconsciously react.

In the world of magic, some rules like these could never be changed, even for Heaven Rank existences, or existences surpassing Heaven Rank, as long as they hadn't separated themselves from the world of magic, they would never be able to change that rule.

Maybe some extremely powerful existences could reduce spell cooldowns, but completely ignoring it was impossible.

Not to mention, that young High Mage was far from being that powerful.

But what was the matter with that Runic Shield?

After all, the previous Runic Shield disappeared a handful of seconds earlier, so how could he be able to use a second Runic Shield?

This was terrifying.

If a mage had that kind of ability and always remain protected by Runic Shield… They would be invincible, a mage could completely ignore injuries and not fear to have their cast interrupted, this kind of mage would be too frightening.

This would be an existence that would break the balance.

'Wait…'

Ross suddenly noticed something, 'This Runic Shield is different from the previous one.'

'How could it be?'

Ross rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

'They truly are different!'

This time, Ross was convinced that he hadn't made a mistake. Indeed, that Runic Shield truly was different from before. The most obvious part was that light shining even more brightly. Countless runes condensed together forming that dazzling light which seemed profound and clear. The mana fluctuations emitted gave off an immovable feeling.

Indeed, that Runic Shield truly gave that feeling to Ross Merlin.

Unbreakable, immovable.

By looking at that Runic Shield, Ross truly understood how accomplished his younger cousin was.

Everyone knew that the might of a Runic Shield depended on the amount of runes condensed, the more runes were condensed, the stronger the Runic Shield would be.

The Runic Shield that just emerged could only be described as outrageous, Ross even felt that many Archmages might be able to form such a formidable Runic Shield.

In contrast, that Runic Shield earlier was just a joke.

'Could it be…' Ross was suddenly frightened.

'Could it be that the previous Runic Shield wasn't even a Runic Shield?'

'Yes, yes…'

This was the only reason which could explain why this distant cousin could ignore spell cooldowns and why the two Runic Shield were so different in terms of power.

'He hadn't used a Runic Shield!'

'But if he hadn't used a Runic Shield… What did he cast?'

'Did he use other shielding spells to forcibly simulate a Runic Shield?'

This possibility scared Ross…

If it truly was the case, then it would really be outrageous.

How could it be…

A High Mage could use Mana Shield, Elemental Shield, and Runic Shield, each one of them had their own distinctive features, so how could he forcibly simulate a Runic Shield?

'Wait…'

'Was that the Ice Fire Shield?'

This was a defensive spell rumored to be extremely malleable, but it was forgotten by mages most of the time because its weak points were too obvious, it had extremely harsh control requirements. The Ice Shield could resist physical attacks while the Fire Shield could block magical attacks, and it could only defend around the caster's body, making it incomparable to the other three protection spells.

But Ross knew that once a mage's control reached a certain level, the power of the Ice Fire Shield wouldn't that much inferior to the other three shields.

Naturally, being able to operate an Ice Fire Shield like a Runic Shield could only be described as shocking.

Ross' gaze was now quite complicated as he looked at his cousin.

And Ross wasn't the only one, it was the same for Hanson Charlotte.

The appearance of that Runic Shield scared Hanson Charlotte, he was frozen on the spot, the Frost Lance in his hands already shaped, but not thrown.

But there was no time for Hanson to daydream, after Lin Yun formed his Runic Shield, he remained unmovable with his unbreakable defense. The ice tornadoes whistled over from all directions like meat grinders, overturning the whole street.

But now, these tornadoes seemed non existent to Lin Yun

Lin Yun was surrounded by flames in a tyrannical posture and passed through the wall of countless ice tornadoes, the countless runes of the Runic Shield didn't suffer from the tornadoes, they were only shaken before recondensing once again. There wasn't any trace of chaos in the runes.

"How could it be!" Lin Yun tyrannical stance woke up Hanson. This Frost Giant roared in panic before throwing that Frost Lance, continuing the bombardment on Lin Yun.

But the lances didn't seem to have the same power, they fell on Lin Yun one after the other, not affecting him in the slightest.

"Just as I thought, ten seconds…" As the last Frost Lance flew through the flames, a devilish smile appeared on Lin Yun's face.

"What do you mean?" Hanson was startled. He had the upper hand as he kept attacking with Frost Lances, forcing that young High Mage to block with his Runic Shield, but for some reason, when he saw that young High Mage's smile, he suddenly felt alarmed. It felt like something dangerous was approaching.

But what was the danger?

Hanson Charlotte thought about it, but couldn't understand. He was quite safe, he could go forward and attack or retreat and defend. So what if that young High Mage managed to cast another Runic Shield? Runic Shield had no offensive property, and as time passed, it would sooner or later disappear. Hanson didn't believe that this young High Mage would be able to cast another Runic Shield.

Yes, the battle had already reached this stage, how could he still feel danger?

"Well, this spell's casting time is too long…"

"Ah?"

Hanson was startled.

He then saw a flame soaring, and the dozens of scattered flames suddenly linked together, forming a true sea of flames spreading through hundreds of meters.

Before Hanson could understand what was happening, those flames swayed like the waves of an ocean.

At first, Hanson sneered because he felt that he wouldn't be affected by the flames with his high tier Elemental Incarnation shape, unless they had the power to crush him completely.

His power was coming from the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, that was a peak True Spirit Magic Tool, how could a twenty some years old kid be able to defeat him?

But Hanson stopped laughing very fast.

He suddenly discovered that this blazing attack had shockingly high temperature, and one wave was enough to melt over half of the ice on his arm.

"How could this be!" Hanson simply didn't dare believing this, 'How could a twenty years old kid summon such a formidable power!'

"Haha…" Lin Yun only chuckled, as he held his Spiritual Magic Staff across his chest. The Elemental Amber flashed and a large amount of mana began pouring into Lin Yun.

At the same time, the two Alchemic Mana Whirlpools began revolving.

Three flow of mana poured into Lin Yun's body, and the mana that was received and emitted was enough to make any High Mage despair. Even Lin Yun himself couldn't help showing a painful expression. Nothing could be done about it, there was truly too much mana pouring into his body, he couldn't support it even with the Magic Array.

But after the discomfort at the start, the results of that mana pouring into his body started appearing as the Magic Array crazily rotated.

As the Magic Array hastened through the increase in mana, the originally earth-shattering flames forcibly grew ten meters taller and instantly engulfed Hanson Charlotte.

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Chapter 313: Hexagram Star Array

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

It gave the feeling of a raging fireplace, instantly burning through any matter, turning anything into more fuel to the fire. The ground was scorched red under the fierce flames, it didn't matter if it was made of stone or consisted of soil, they would both be completely burnt. Not only was the earth scorched red, the tall flames turned the sky red, there was no other color. That blaze was stifling.

"What… What are those flames!" The despairing Hanson shouted in a frenzied voice. He looked like a drowning man struggling desperately to survive, trying to escape this sea of flames.

But it was already too late.

Several hundred meters around them had been covered by Lin Yun's horrifying flames. Even if Hanson used the power of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, possessing the power of an Archmage and a Sword Saint, he wouldn't be able to escape in a short term. The ice armor around Hanson Charlotte's body melted in an instant, exposing the inhuman black scales.

It could be seen how astonishing Hanson Charlotte's power was, the Sea of Flames could only be described as terrifying, it even melted the high tier Ice Elemental Incarnation shell in an instant, yet Hanson was still enduring in the sea of flames after recovering his monstrous form.

However his black scales turning red, just like a lobster being cooked, easily betrayed his difficulties. He let out a painful roar from within the Sea of Flames, trying to endure.

Hanson's legs fiercely stomped on the ground, scattering rocks and soil around, relying on his powerful body to charge a dozen meters forward.

A wave of fire rushed at him, forcing Hanson Charlotte to fall on the ground due to the blazing attack. The black scales that looked as if they had been cooked before now seemed to be melting.

But that monster's vitality was too shocking. That flame assault would be able to wound a Sword Saint, but Hanson Charlotte didn't seem to pay attention to the injury. He crawled up, and stomped the ground once again, propelling himself further. He was like an arrow flying forward.

A world shaking roar could be heard echoing in the Sea of Flames, and although Hanson was riddled with scars, the aura he emitted was extremely terrifying, he looked like an Abyssal Demon.

Ross was simply stunned as he looked at that scene from the sidelines. A fight of that level completely surpassed Ross' imagination. Let alone getting involved, he was worried about being hurt just being in proximity.

The power displayed by that monster was enough to make Ross despair. Ross had thought that the battle was over with that Sea of Flames, but he hadn't expected that after the Elemental Incarnation melted, Hanson would actually be able to rely on his own power to endure the flames.

How could this be possible…

Ross could only look on helplessly as Hanson was struggling and enduring the terrifying flames.

Moreover, it looked as if he would be able to escape the flames.

Hanson had originally been in the center of the Sea of Flames, but as he laboured while enduring the pain, he managed to reach the outer edge. He was now less than a hundred meters away from escaping.

Such a distance wasn't much to the current Hanson Charlotte, possessing both the power of an Archmage and Sword Saint. It was well within his reach and abilities.

'What could be done, what could be done…'

Ross Merlin knew that his younger cousin had been able to force Hanson Charlotte to this point because of all the traps he had laid before, leading Hanson into the center of the Sea of Flames.

But if Hanson Charlotte truly escaped, that fight would return once again to the beginning. At that time, his High Mage cousin wouldn't be able to beat that freak…

At this time, Ross' heart was heavy as he stared at the fiery scene in front of him, afraid of missing any details.

"Mafa Merlin, you can't keep me contained!" Hanson got knocked down by the flames once again. His wounds were completely exposed, burns covered his entire chest. Even some bones were exposed, yet neither such heavy injuries nor the burns all over his body managed to hinder Hanson's movements as he tried to flee the Sea of Flames.

His eyes were shining with a scary light as he stared towards Lin Yun, his gaze full of hate.

"It'll be your end when I leave these flames!" Hanson roared before rushing once again towards the outside. Hanson was less than thirty meters away from escaping at this time.

'Finished…'

Ross' face turned pale as he looked at the battlefield, his face filled with panic and despair.

Thirty meters weren't enough to stop Hanson Charlotte, and once he exited that Sea of Flames, that monster with infinite anger and hatred would burst out with frightening power. Ross didn't even dare imagining it.

But then, Lin Yun waved his hand and summoned Syudos.

"You aren't leaving this place…" Lin Yun's voice was slow and gentle, but it resounded with clarity for everyone present.

"Ridiculous!" Hanson was already at the edge of the Sea of Flames, how could he take Lin Yun seriously?

A mournful voice was heard as a huge hexagram star appeared under his feet. Under the rush of mana, the Hexagram Star Array's radiance instantly soared. Even if that dark red radiance was hidden within the Sea of Flames, it gave off a chilly feeling…

That was the Hell Hexagram Star Array.

Now, an astonishing power was converging above the Hexagram Star Array, and although that power had yet to burst, the aura it emitted was enough to make anyone feel suffocated. Even Lin Yun could feel it. If this power burst, it would bring huge trouble to him.

Thus, Lin Yun decided to not give Hanson an opportunity.

Lin Yun disappeared just as the radiance soared above the Hexagram Star Array.

Yes, he disappeared.

He only disappeared for a split second before reappearing in front of Hanson's body. This was Flame Flash!

"Hmm?" A dense sulfur breath came out of Hanson's nostrils as shock leaked out of his mouth.

Hanson didn't understand why this Mafa Merlin would come so close to him, after all, he had the power of a Sword Saint at the moment. Even an Archmage wouldn't dare to get close to a Sword Saint, let alone a youth who had yet to reach the Archmage realm.

'What is he planning?'

This abrupt change made Hanson, who had been controlling the Hexagram Star Array, distracted.

"I said, you aren't leaving." Lin Yun said still in that slow and gentle voice, full of confidence, making Hanson's heart tighten in response.

Unfortunately, Hanson didn't have time to think why the other side was so confident.

Because Lin Yun let out a Flame Shackle in a split second and shifted behind Hanson's body, the Upper Rank Flame Spirit in his hand transformed into a blazing cage which enveloped the Hexagram Star Array after being thrown on the ground. Syudos was no different from an Archmage in terms of strength, and after turning into a blazing cage, he burst with power that instantly pressured the Hexagram Star Array, no matter how hard Hanson urged the Hexagram, it still didn't listen to his orders.

"You…" Hanson Charlotte's voice suddenly stopped.

"You what?" Lin Yun remained unmoved, the book in his hand opening, and under the guidance of the Spiritual Magic Staff, the book quickly turned to the 6th chapter, "You really think that by putting on a devil skin you have the power of a Greater Devil?"

That was the new chapter Lin Yun got a hold of!

The thin and light Crystal Page. Under Lin Yun's urge, it burst out with shocking power.

Following Lin Yun's chant, numerous characters appeared on top of the Truth Chapter. They appeared one after the other, and each character seemed to carry outrageous power. Each character seemed to have their own life as they flew out of the True Chapter and quickly gathered in the sky before transforming into huge runes whose power would make anyone despair.

"What… What is this!" Hanson Charlotte was truly scared this time.

These huge runes not only contained shocking power, most importantly, that power made Hanson feel afraid, that was the feeling of meeting a predator.

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Chapter 314: Greater Devil

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

It was the first time Hanson Charlotte had been so afraid since he obtained the power of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice. He was confident enough to duel Patriarch Ofran with the power of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice, but now, Hanson Charlotte felt terrified when was facing these huge runes, it was a fear coming from his bloodline and soul.

The best thing Hanson could do was rush to kill Mafa Merlin before that power burst out.

But then, Hanson realized he couldn't do so. He only understood now why Mafa Merlin spent so much time and effort to spread that Sea of Flames.

It was because this Sea of Flames made him invincible in his Fire Elemental Incarnation form.

He simply couldn't catch that High Mage who could Flame Flash anytime anywhere. This spacious Sea of Flames gave boundless maneuvering space to Mafa Merlin.

"Mafa Merlin, you are despicable!" Hanson Charlotte's roar echoed within the Sea of Flames.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Those huge runes had already finished condensing in the sky.

It looked like a huge disk, motionless above Hanson's head.

Lin Yun then shouted the last part of the incantation.

In a flash, the power of the Truth Chapter burst out. An explosion could be heard as those huge runes exploded on Hanson's chest one after the other.

"Aaah!" A world-shaking roar echoed, it was a mix of pain and despair.

It was rumored that the Truth Chapter could understand the origin of everything, under the cover of the Truth Chapter, all lies and disguises would disappear.

This naturally included Hanson Charlotte. He used the sacrifices he made in the past century to temporarily borrow the power of a Greater Devil.

When the Truth Chapter burst out, the black scales on Hanson's body started peeling off one after the other, fiercely bending. The long tail started withdrawing within his body as his body quickly shrank and the black smoke slowly scattered.

"No… No… No… This is impossible! You cannot do this!" Hanson's voice grew quieter and quieter as the terrifying Abyssal aura quickly dissipated to be replaced by despairing and fearful pleading.

But that didn't change the fact that his power was declining.

After a few seconds, Hanson regained his human form, gray hairs and wrinkles. Most importantly, he lost the abnormal vitality he had gained as a monster and was now suffering from the consequences of his serious injuries. Those long burns on his chest made him sink into a near death state.

"Nothing can be done about it, High Mage Hanson, you brought that upon yourself…" After saying that, Lin Yun conjured an Icicle and pierced Hanson's chest.

"…" Ross felt chilly when he saw this.

Ross was a hardened veteran, countless opponents died under his hands during planar expeditions, so how could Ross not know that truly frightening opponents couldn't be judged by their power, but by how skilled they were in killing.

And the younger cousin in front of him was definitely very proficient in that department.

It could be seen by how he finished off Hanson.

That could only be described as vicious and merciless. Ross would rarely see people killing so straightforwardly, disregarding and ignoring him, only raising his hand to cast an Icicle. So what if he had a backer or a huge background? It seemed useless in front of him.

This kind of person was the most terrifying.

If he could, Ross would rather never come in contact with that person for his whole life.

"Now you know. I didn't tell you who killed Stan Watson for your own good, you know…" After the fight was over, William leisurely came down from the carriage and gently patted Ross' shoulder, an entertained smile on his face.

William's mood was very good as he looked at Ross.

In his eyes, the current Ross was too similar to him when he arrived to Thousand Sails City. He had been like Ross back then and thought of himself as one of the core children of the Merlin Family with abundant power and an ambitious future. How could he treat a child born in Thousand Sails City as an equal?

But after being in contact with him for a while, he gradually discovered that this younger cousin was quite special, he kept frightening and shocking him until William became completely numb to it and managed to keep his calm when facing any situation involving his cousin.

"Ross, you have a long path ahead of you…" William returned to his carriage after saying that, leaving a dumbstruck Ross Merlin by himself.

Ross' mood was very complicated at this time.

How could he have imagined that this seemingly refined and wealthy cousin would be hiding such a frightening power? He had seen everything with his own eyes today, but if William had told him beforehand, he wouldn't have believed him… This was too freakish. Hanson had been a monster who had the power of both an Archmage and a Sword Saint, on pure fighting power, he would be close to a 5th Rank Archmage. This kind of strength could be considered top tier in Okland. Moreover, he had originally been accompanied by two 9th Rank Phantom Archers and a 5th Rank High Mage…

But the outcome…

The two Phantom Archers died under an Earth Rending Hand while Hanson Charlotte was pierced by an Icicle. No one would believe it if this information was leaked.

"Mafa… Cousin Mafa, you…" Ross stood there in a daze. But after saying those few words, he didn't know what to say and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"We will talk about that map later." But to Ross' surprise, Lin Yun actually took the initiative to mention that matter before Ross could say anything.

Ross had already given up on the map at this point.

It's not that he didn't want it, but rather that he didn't dare to think about getting it…

He hadn't expected that his younger cousin would take the initiative to mention it when he had already gave up on it. This felt like walking on a road and finding a gold coin on the ground. Ross didn't know how to react, he stood there for a long time, not knowing how he should react before suddenly displaying a pleasantly surprised expression, "Thank you, thank you, Cousin Mafa, thank you…"

"Alright, let's go back first." Lin Yun patted Ross' shoulder but didn't say anything else, he didn't explain why he was doing that.

In fact, Lin Yun's reason for doing so was very simple. Ross could have fled during the fight, but he didn't abandon him and William. Just this was enough for Lin Yun to forget the previous issues and offer Ross a chance to discuss this map.

"Hmm?" Just as Lin Yun considered whether he should tell Ross Merlin that this map was leading to a very dangerous area, strange mana fluctuations suddenly spread through the area.

"Step aside!" Lin Yun pushed Ross Merlin away when he sensed these mana fluctuations.

Because these mana fluctuations were very familiar and very powerful.

If he wasn't wrong, these mana fluctuations should have come from a very powerful existence, and Ross would simply be courting death if he remained there.

Fortunately, Ross' reaction was very fast, Lin Yun pushed him and by going along with the momentum, Ross flew a dozen meters away.

Because Ross knew that something that could make his cousin nervous definitely wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Sure enough, as Ross retreated, black smoke rose up of Hanson's corpse.

This black smoke seemed alive, continuously twisting as if something was struggling amidst the smoke. What was more frightening was that the spreading smoke felt more powerful than Hanson Charlotte did. That evil and bloody aura even made Lin Yun take a step back.

Ultimately, the black smoke turned into a sinister face. That face looked similar from Hanson Charlotte in his monster form, but looked more malevolent and more frightening.

"…" Lin Yun held his breath as he saw that terrifying face.

'Sure enough… It came'

The Greater Devil Magic Tool Incarnation of the Thousand Souls Sacrifice which had been slumbering for a millennium truly had a wisp of power hidden within Hanson Charlotte's body. Now that its host died, the Greater Devil's attention gathered on them.

Greater Devils were lifeforms from hell, evil and bloodthirsty peak existences. They fed on flesh and blood and were the nightmares of almost all intelligent lifeforms. They were also very powerful, a peak devil could even kill a Heaven Rank powerhouse in Hell.

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Chapter 315: Magic Ocean

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

But fortunately, Lin Yun knew that the Great Devil had been grievously injured and had no other choice than to become the Thousand Souls Sacrifice's Incarnation, which ended up falling into the hands of the Charlotte Patriarch, and was far from having recovered his power. At best, he had the power of a peak True Spirit Magic Tool.

"Eh?! A human mage?" The face formed out of black smoke looked at Lin Yun as it spoke with a hellish voice. "Let me see… Tsk, I never expected that such a young human mage would be able to kill my host…"

Lin Yun only took one step back as he collected the Upper Rank Flame Spirit. He tightly held his Spiritual Magic Staff and Book of Death while remaining extremely cautious.

"Oh? So it's like this… I understand…" The sinister face looked at Lin Yun for a long time before bursting out in unpleasant laughter. "It's that gem you hold, isn't it, Human Mage?"

"What gem?"

"Human Mage, that gem isn't something you should come into contact with, it'll bring disaster to you and your family. Hand over that precious gem and I'll give you a way out. Otherwise, when I find you, you and your family will end up weeping in the depths of hell."

"I don't know what gem you are talking about…"

"Looks like you chose to become my enemy, Human Mage…"

"Tricks are useless!" Lin Yun stopped the conversation and poured mana in the Book of Death, letting the Truth Chapter come out with a dazzling radiance once again.

Countless runes appeared before their eyes…

"Shit, Human Mage, you dare attack me?!" That sinister face let out a world-shaking roar when those runes appeared. That roar was immediately followed by a surprised shout. "Impossible, how could you control this power!?"

"Hey, I know you are still slumbering in the Charlotte Family's Ancestral Land, you don't have much time…" Only Lin Yun himself knew that the pressure put on him by that Incarnation was equal to the Star Sage in terms of power. Even if only a part of his power had descended, this wasn't something Lin Yun could withstand.

The only thing Lin Yun could rely on was the Truth Chapter.

The Truth Chapter could see through all deceptions and get rid of all evil, it could be said to be the natural enemy of this kind of sinister monster.

Sure enough.

As Lin Yun crazily urged the Truth Chapter's power, the visage made of black smoke let out a fearful expression.

"Human Mage, your actions have prices, just wait and see. I'll come and find you in three months. When my true body comes, you and your family will end up screaming in the depths of Hell!"

After roaring, the sinister face dissipated in the air, alongside those strange mana fluctuations.

"Phew…" Lin Yun let out a long sigh of relief when it disappeared.

It looked as if Lin Yun only said a few sentences and roused the Truth Chapter, but the pressure he received was unimaginably high.

It was a Greater Devil!

An existence that was able to kill a Heaven Rank powerhouse!

Although only a part of its power descended, the rank suppression was there, there was a difference of at least two ranks between them, Lin Yun could barely bear the huge pressure.

Not to mention Lin Yun, Ross and William were a lot worse off.

"What was this?" Only when the face disappeared did Ross and William dare to walk over. The two were extremely pale and drenched in cold sweat. The pressure brought by that fierce face was truly too frightening. The two of them had been standing a few dozen meters away, feeling as if they would be swallowed by that strange power covering them if they weren't careful.

That wasn't a power just anyone could contend against.

"Nothing, let's return first." Lin Yun shook his head, unwilling to remain here for too long. The power the Greater Devil displayed here would attract many powerhouses, Lin Yun didn't want to end up in the middle of all this.

After a few hurried sentences, the three of them passed through the now ruined street and looked for a carriage in the distance.

The three of them only reached the Merlin Family Manor half an hour later.

After a simple rest, Ross got up and said goodbye, but he hesitated as he recalled the words his younger cousin said after killing Hanson and wanted to talk about the map.

Ross naturally didn't want to give up on the map.

But after experiencing this younger cousin's power, Ross felt intimidated. Ross was very nervous as he stood in front of Lin Yun and wouldn't take the initiative to mention that map.

Ultimately, Lin Yun looked at him and told him, "Sit down."

"Yes, yes…" Ross nodded and sat down.

"First, tell me what that map means to you."

"This…" Ross didn't think that this younger cousin of his would start the discussion by asking about his biggest secret. Once this was asked, Ross found things to be difficult.

Ross wouldn't have hesitated if it had been another question.

But this…

This was Ross Merlin's greatest secret.

Ross had always been suppressed by Stan Watson, he could only watch as the latter left him in the dust. He was like a nightmare, yet Ross wasn't despairing because he had a map that could let him become successful in an instant, that map would let him overtake Stan Watson, and all other geniuses, letting him reach the peak of the path of magic.

But now, his younger cousin was asking him to reveal his greatest secret. Ross hesitated for quite a while.

It wasn't that Ross was too suspicious…

But rather, that secret was too important to Ross.

This was related to Ross' future on the path of magic.

Everyone knew that Ross had only been part of the side branch of the Merlin Family, his bloodline wasn't very pure, he was still an ordinary Mage before twenty. But after twenty, he made huge progress and not only became a 5th Rank High Mage, he also had the most powerful Magic Conducting Rune of the Merlin Family, the Endless Spring.

But Ross knew that this was all because of that secret.

Or to be more accurate, because of a part of that secret, a very small part.

If such a small part could make Ross this powerful, then how high would he reach if he obtain the complete secret?

"Cousin Mafa, this…" Ross didn't know what to do as he stood there.

"It's fine, I won't force you to talk if you are unwilling." Hearing this, Lin Yun knew that this map was very important to Ross.

As for the details, Lin Yun didn't need to be concerned about it.

After all, could it be more important than Lin Yun's knowledge?

"No, no, Cousin Mafa, I didn't mean this…" Lin Yun hadn't expected Ross to be terrified when he shook his head, Ross thought that Lin Yun was offended and thus stopped pondering about it and immediately said, "Cousin Mafa, this map is linked to a secret that can transform the Endless Spring…"

"Ah?"

Lin Yun was surprised when he heard that.

At first, Lin Yun thought that this map might lead Ross to a treasure, or to a profound Meditation Law Set, but Lin Yun truly didn't expect that this could lead to a secret that could transform the Endless Spring.

After all, the Endless Spring was the most powerful Magic Conducting Rune of the Merlin Family, it could be said to be one of the top tier Magic Conducting Rune of the Andlusa Kingdom.

If it transformed it would become the Magic Ocean, the number one Magic Conducting Rune in the current era!

'But it should have already disappeared in the 3rd Dynasty…?'

It would once again appear at the peak of the magic era. When Lin Yun was choosing his Magic Conducting Rune, the Magic Ocean was one of the potential candidates, but chose the most formidable Magic Array.

But this didn't mean that the Magic Ocean wasn't powerful enough.

Even during the peak of the era, the Magic Ocean was powerful and famous enough to be rated as one of the top tier Magic Conducting Rune and countless mages would choose this Magic Conducting Rune.

But it simply couldn't compare to the Magic Array.

After all, the Magic Array was too special.

It was on a completely different level. The Magic Ocean couldn't compare with it, nor could any Magic Conducting Rune.

"You know, I've been a child from a side branch of the Merlin Family before and the bloodline running through my veins has been very diluted, not like someone like William who can progress fast on the path of magic. I won't hide it from you, I was still a 1st Rank Mage at twenty…"

"I did hear some people mention this and it felt strange, how did you…" William nodded on the side.

"Haha, it might be my luck…" Since he started, William continued his explanation after sitting down, "I originally thought that I would never become a Great Mage in this life. But I hadn't expected that I would discover a part of a Meditation Law when I went to the Palatin Library to copy a spell."

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"A part?" William frowned.

"Yes, a part of a Meditation Law. To be more precise, it was a third of a Meditation law Set…"

"What use is there in a third?" William didn't understand. Meditation Law Sets were different from spells. Spells usually consist of a few modules linked together. If one obtained one or two modules, even if they couldn't complete the spell, they would be able to use these two modules in other spells.

But Meditation Law Sets…

It consisted of Meditation Laws complementing each other, let alone two thirds, even a few characters missing could lead to the Meditation Law not working.

As he thought about this, William couldn't help doubtfully looking at Lin Yun but when he saw Lin Yun nodding, he didn't question it.

William didn't really understand, could a Meditation Law Set missing two-thirds of its content really work?

"First section of the Elemental Tide?"

"C… Cousin Mafa, you… You… How could you know!" Lin Yun's simple words made Ross stand up as he stood up in panic, pointing at Lin Yun while violently shaking.

"What's so strange about it…" Lin Yun shook his head with a smile, "There are seventeen Meditation Law Sets that could operate with two-thirds missing, of those, only three won't clash with the Endless Spring, those three are the Elemental Tide, the Scarlet Storm, and the Blue Moon Song. The Scarlet Storm would lead to the eyes turning red, and your eyes are normal, so it's definitely not the Scarlet Storm. As for the Blue Moon Song, well, you would already be a 9th Rank High Mage if you had it and you would have already gotten that map from him…"

"This…" Ross stood there in a daze while listening to Lin Yun's calm analysis. He only felt cold crawling up his back, this was too frightening. Just based on a few sentences, he managed to figure out his biggest secret. Ross felt as if he was standing naked in front of this younger cousin, he simply couldn't hide anything.

"Alright, keep going."

"Okay…" Ross composed himself before continuing, "My thoughts at the time were the same as William just now, I didn't see any use in a third of a Meditation Law Set. Even if that Meditation Law Set was very powerful, it was only a third. Even if it could work normally, what if a problem happened? I kept that Meditation Law Set for two years. During these two years, I strived to reach 5th Rank Mage, but in these two years, I only reached 3rd Rank Mage. It was then that I realized that I wasn't gifted enough. Even my teacher tactfully advised me to find another path. But I was unwilling to give up. I didn't want to give up…"

"I see, I understand…" Lin Yun nodded. Ross' circumstances were similar to that of the original Mafa Merlin.

"Thus, after pondering overnight, I finally picked up that Meditation Law Set. I decided to gamble. If I won, I would reach 5th Rank Mage, and maybe even Great Mage. If I lost, I wouldn't have to bother with it anymore, I decided to gamble everything on whether I would be able to continue on the path of magic or not…"

"And then you won the gamble."

"Yes, I won. In a few years, I kept progressing without being stopped, from 3rd Rank Mage to 5th Rank High Mage, it took me less than ten years. It was to the point that I began to be complacent with the help of that Meditation Law Set and the Merlin Family's strongest Endless Spring, I began to think that there was no genius in Okland that was more powerful than I was… Up until I entered the Raging Flame Plane and fought Stan Watson. I lost that fight miserably and was ridiculed by everyone, but I was unwilling! I thought of every possible way to become more powerful, but Stan Watson was progressing too fast. It made me despair. In the end, I returned to the Palatin Library and found a torn page in the area I found the Meditation Law Set…"

"Oh?"

"Through that page, I learnt that the Meditation Law Set I was using was the Elemental Tide. The Elemental Tide had 13 formulas, this was a top tier Meditation Law Set in Noscent, I would obtain terrifying power if I could complete it. But I only had the first section of the Elemental Tide, which was the foundation section. Moreover, that page mentioned a map which could lead me to clues to the complete Elemental Tide. But that map had been lost among the planes…"

"So you started looking for that map?"

"Yes…" Ross nodded, "A few years later, I kept actively participating in the Merlin Family's planar expansion, I walked through countless planes to look for that map mentioned in that torn off page, before finally finding clues in a Dark Elven Shrine while helping the Mercury Tower. There was the diary of an Archmage called Dean, and through reading his notes, I learnt that Sir Dean had also been studying the Elemental Tide, and the second section of the Elemental Tide. He was also looking for that map, and had made shocking progress. But unfortunately, he didn't find that map quickly enough and fell in the Gold Forest Plane, only leaving behind his diary. His last notes said that the map was most likely in the Raging Flame Plane…"

"No wonder!" Hearing this, William couldn't help have an understanding expression on his face, "No wonder you always asked the Elder Council to participate in the Raging Flame Plane struggle. At the time, we all thought that you wanted to take your revenge on Stan Watson. It turns out you wanted to look for that map…"

"That's right, it took a lot of effort to convince the Elder Council, but when I rushed to the Raging Flame Plane, I found out that the map had already been taken away by Stan Watson…"

When he finished, Ross suddenly bent down and bowed at Lin Yun, "Cousin Mafa, I know we had some disagreements. I apologize for what I've done. But can you let me have this map? Cousin Mafa, you should know that the Elemental Tide need to be learnt during the Great Mage realm, if you miss that period, the Elemental Tide would be nothing more than trash…"

"Elemental Tide?" Lin Yun smiled when he heard that, "Indeed, as far as I'm concerned, the Elemental Tide isn't important…"

"Thank you, Cousin Mafa." A happy expression appeared on Ross' face.

"But…"

"Eh?" The smile on Ross' face suddenly froze, "There is still a but?"

"Yes, as far as I'm concerned, the Elemental Tide isn't important, but I cannot give you that map like that…"

"Why?"

"Are you retarded?" William intervened from the side, "Why are you still not thanking Cousin Mafa."

"Eh?" Ross was confused when he heard that.

"…" If not for Lin Yun still being there, William would have already hit Ross on the head to see if it could knock some sense into it.

'Shit, are you really retarded?'

'Cousin Mafa is already making it very clear, the Elemental Tide isn't important to him, can you not infer what that means?'

"Shit, Ross, you should clean your ears, Cousin Mafa just said that the map is still useful to him…"

"But, but…"

"Forget it, you are too stupid…" William didn't know what to say.

'It's so obvious…'

'Cousin Mafa clearly said that the Elemental Tide isn't important, yet the map is. In other words, as long as Cousin Mafa is willing, he could let you obtain the full Elemental Tide Meditation Law Set anytime. How could you not see that? Is your brain even working? You could gain a full Meditation Law Set yet you can't see it…'

"I'm going to the Mercury Tower tomorrow. I might stay there for a few days. You should use that time to sort out the first section of the Elemental Tide so I can see whether I can help you complete it with the second and third sections. In any case, it's late, I'm going to rest…"

"Cousin Mafa, that map…" Lin Yun's silhouette already disappeared to the 2nd floor. Although Ross still wanted to argue, William managed to stop him on time.

"Ross, are you really a 5th Rank High Mage?"

"Yes, I am, what about it?"

"You should let me know how you managed to become one while being so retarded…"

"You are retarded!" Ross instantly answered.

"If you weren't retarded, how could you not understand what Cousin Mafa just said? Complete, do you know what this word means? Do you know what completing it with the second and third sections means? How could you not understand?"

"But the map…" Ross was still thinking of arguing when he suddenly froze, "Wait, you mean…Cousin Mafa can complete the Elemental Tide?"

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"Yes, complete…"

"How could it be possible!?" Ross was startled.

He had been practicing the first section of the Elemental Tide for a while, so how could he not know how formidable the Meditation Law Set was? It was hardly an exaggeration to say that if the Elemental Tide was completed, it would have at least thirteen formulas and be one of the top-tier Meditation Law Sets in Noscent. It would crush any of the core Meditation Law Sets used by Okland's forces, including the Cloud Tower's, the Black Tower's, Okland Magic School's, as well as all the others. None of them had a Meditation Law Set that could reach thirteen formulas.

Even the Black Horn chamber of commerce, which was a top tier force in all of Noscent, didn't have a thirteen-formula Meditation Law Set.

That Meditation Law Set could only be described as invaluable. Any force obtaining such a thing would treat it as their most important and core secret. If news of such a thing leaked, it would lead to a war that would result in the death of millions. Even a powerhouse like Jouyi would be drawn into such a bloodbath.

Ross had learned that this distant younger cousin was far from being as simple as he seemed to be. Moreover, the more he stayed around him, the more he felt that his younger cousin was unfathomable. Ross felt heavy pressure just by standing before him, because he would never be able to predict what kind of shocking action he would do next.

Just like in the battle earlier.

Ross hadn't expected such an outcome.

Two 9th Rank Phantom Archers and a 5th Rank High Mage quickly died, and Hanson, who incarnated that monster, gaining the power of an Archmage and a Sword Saint, still ended up being killed too. The only one left standing was his younger cousin. By himself, he managed to have four powerhouses stronger than him killed.

Whether it was wealth or power, everything made Ross feel terrible.

But, regardless of how formidable he was, Ross didn't believe that he would be able to complete the Elemental Tide.

This was too outrageous. Even if Heaven Rank powerhouses personally took care of this, they might not necessarily be able to complete a powerful Meditation Law Set like the Elemental Tide. His cousin Mafa was barely twenty, so no matter how unfathomable he was, how could he be more formidable than a Heaven Rank powerhouse?

"You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe… But, William, this is too… too…" Ross repeated the word a few times, but he didn't know what to say after that.

"I know you don't believe me…" William smiled. He stretched his hand out and let a flame appear. "Do you know what this is?"

"This…" Ross doubtfully examined the flame, but strangely, that flame seemed rather gentle, and didn't have an astonishing temperature. The scary part was that it had no trace of impurities, as if it had been condensed directly from the fire elements.

Thinking of this, Ross probingly asked, "This is your Meditation Law Set?"

"Yes, this is the Crimson Heart, a Meditation Law Set containing 9 formulas…"

"Nine formulas!" Hearing this, Ross suddenly understood.

No wonder William improved so much in half a year. He had advanced to the High Mage realm when he was originally a 5th Rank Great Mage, and his fighting strength wasn't much inferior to Ross' own. He even defeated him once.

In the past few days, Ross had been wondering how William had gotten such a powerup.

It all made sense now.

It turned out that everything was due to this Crimson Heart.

A nine-formula Meditation Law Set already surpassed all the Meditation Law Sets that the Merlin Family possessed. It even surpassed the first section of his Elemental Tide.

The first section of the Elemental Tide only had eight formulas, while William's Crimson Heart had nine.

Thinking of this, Ross suddenly asked, "You mean… Your Crimson Heart… Cousin Mafa… Cousin Mafa completed it for you?"

"No…" William shook his head.

Just as Ross let out a relieved sigh, thinking that he had guessed wrong, William explained, "Cousin Mafa taught me this Crimson Heart for practice. Once I get used to it, he will give me the true Meditation Law Set. It's a Meditation Law Set with thirteen formulas… Alright, alright, you don't need to show me such an expression, you didn't mishear, it is a thirteen-formula Meditation Law Set, which Cousin Mafa said he will be teaching me…"

"Heavens…" Ross held his breath…

"Now, do you understand what Cousin Mafa just said?""To tell you the truth, Ross, our cousin is a hundred times more frightening than you're imagining. Do you know Suyass of the Mercury Tower? Okland's most recent Archmage? He doesn't dare to talk loudly in front of our cousin. You heard of Karon? The future master of the Mercury Tower? He had to be respectful in front of Cousin Mafa. Has Karon ever been polite when talking to Patriarch Ofran? Don't think that there are no powerful people in Thousand Sails City just because it's a small place. Our cousin is far more formidable than you could ever imagine.Ross and William talked for a long time, and when the next day arrived, Ross was itching to look for his younger cousin to complete the Elemental Tide Meditation Law Set, but William dragged him away as he was about to knock on the door.

"Did you forget what Cousin Mafa told you yesterday? He told you to use the next few days to carefully sort out the first section of the Elemental Tide. What are you in a hurry for?"

"But I…"

"Listen here, keep the buts for yourself, I spent half a year in Thousand Sails City and learnt a very simple rule. Do you want to know what that is?"

"What is it?"

"Do what Cousin Mafa wants you to do, or else you'll definitely regret it."Lin Yun left the Merlin Family Manor around noon, only taking William with him as Ross was left behind. This was mainly because Lin Yun wanted Ross to prepare the first section of the Elemental Tide.

He actually needed that step, because Lin Yun truly didn't remember the details of the Elemental Tide. Although he could find the Elemental Tide Meditation Law Set in the decaying library, this Meditation Law Set with thirteen formulas was of little value to Lin Yun.

The biggest effect of the Elemental Tide was the expansion of the Mana Whirlpool. If practiced in the Meditation Law Set, the mana Whirlpool could expand a hundred times. At that time, the mana that one could hold would be boundless, and along with the Endless Spring, or the advanced shape of the Endless Spring, the Magic Ocean, Ross would be able to never run out of mana.

Only…

At the time, Lin Yun's surroundings were very harsh, Noscent was on the brink of destruction, and the mana in the atmosphere had already been completely dried up. What use was there in having a Mana Whirlpool that was a hundred times larger? He couldn't absorb any mana, it'd be completely useless.

Thus, Lin Yun couldn't simply teach the Elemental Tide's Meditation Law Set to Ross.

He could only send Ross to sort out the first section of the Elemental Tide. The rest still had to be completed, so he would have to infer the 2nd and 3rd sections based on the first section.

"Oh right, Cousin, didn't you say that map led to a dangerous place?" The two had been sitting in the carriage for a long time before William asked something that had been bothering him.

"Indeed, it is very dangerous…" Lin Yun nodded, showing a wan smile. "But nothing can be done about it…"

"Eh?"

"I finally chose my Meditation Law Set," Lin Yun smiled and reminded him.

Because the Magic Array was too special, Lin Yun had never chosen his own Meditation Law Set. But he could no longer wait because his ten Magic Arrays had fused together. If he didn't choose a Meditation Law Set, dangers would remain on his magic path.

In fact, that matter was already in Lin Yun's schedule. Before leaving for Okland, he had started choosing among the many Meditation Law Sets he knew.

And what Lin Yun chose wasn't an eleven-formula, twelve-formula, or thirteen-formula Meditation Law Set. What attracted his eyes was a fourteen-formula one. That was Noscent's peak Meditation Law Set! Each part was deep and each Law was powerful, to the point that Lin Yun had spent a long time considering it and had yet to make his mind.

Up until today.

Lin Yun heard about the Magic Ocean from Ross Merlin and the existence of the Elemental Tide. He then realized that he might have the opportunity to challenge it again.

No, no, it wasn't the Magic Ocean and Elemental Tide.

The Magic Ocean couldn't compare to Lin Yun's Magic Array in terms of power, and although the Elemental Tide was powerful, it only had thirteen formulas.

But behind the Magic Ocean and the Magic Tide was hidden a famous Heaven Rank powerhouse who left his name in history.

In the middle of the third dynasty, a Heaven Rank powerhouse that would shake the entirety of Noscent appeared in Gaugass. That person was called Jason Wagrein, Gaugass' king, and was also known as the famous Prince Wagrein. He had been a close friend and rival to Emperor Zhantui for a long time. In his youth, he studied at the Okland Magic School together with Emperor Zhantui. Later on, he returned to Gaugass and declared its independence, bringing thirty years of chaos to the empire.

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Chapter 318: Mysterious Law

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

For those thirty years, the empire was filled with the chaos of war. Almost everyone thought that the empire was in a hopeless situation, but Emperor Zhantui inherited the throne at the most critical moment, fought hard against the tumultuous situation and used an iron fist to suppress all opposing forces before walking with Jason Wagrein into the Tulan Mountains, staying there for a full three days.

No one ever found out what happened during those three days.

Three days later, Emperor Zhantui left the Tulan Mountains, holding the magic staff of the Gaugass King in his hand and ending the thirty-year war.

From that point on, Jason Wagrein never appeared again.

But strangely, even after several decades, Emperor Zhantui would refuse to admit that he defeated Jason Wagrein, and he would also refuse to acknowledge his death.

But one time…

When Emperor Zhantui was seriously ill, he said something strange about the Gaugass King. According to the people at Emperor Zhantui's side, Emperor Zhantui was saying that Jason had left and that he himself felt very envious.

These strange words seemed contradictory, as leaving clearly seemed to mean death. How could there be anything worth envying in that?

But the legend about the king of Gaugass spread throughout Noscent, and even this day, there were many traces all over Gaugass.

He was the most powerful Battle Mage in Noscent's history.

Ever since then, no Battle Mage reached his level.

In those years, he had already reached Heaven Rank when he entered the Tulan Mountains with the Emperor. Many people believed that he was at the peak of the Heaven Rank. Whether it was Gaugass' King or the Emperor, their strength far exceeded that of their contemporaries.

Especially the Gaugass King. Who knew how many mages studied him after countless years? This Gaugass King could only be described as terrifying. He almost exerted his dominance over an entire era, and if not for Emperor Zhantui being alive at the same time, the King of Gaugass would have been the most powerful person of that era.

The magic research conducted during the peak of the magic era was more developed than it was now.

Mages had already searched for some time and had ended up concluding that using the method of Battle Mages wouldn't work.

Although focusing on both the martial path and the magic path would lead to transcendent fighting power, the further they went in that direction, the harder it became to rise. In the thousands of years of Gaugass' history, countless Battle Mages had appeared, but only a few reached Heaven Rank, and the Gaugass King, Jason Wagrein, became unique and unmatched. Thousands of years of history led to this.

At first, the mages thought that it was due to Jason Wagrein's talent, but as the research continued, they gradually discovered that Jason's natural talent wasn't as good as they'd thought. This result tossed everything into disarray. In the next twenty years, mages kept researching this matter. They wanted to know how Jason managed to reach that level with his level of inherent talent.

There was almost no secret to be had in front of these crazy mages. Jason's life was excavated, every detail, every trivial matter. They were all scrutinized, and later on, the mages found out that Jason Wagrein's Meditation Law Set was very special.

Most of the mages only practiced one Meditation Law Set, and if nothing unexpected happened, that Meditation Law Set would decide the extent of their future accomplishments. Yet, a small part of the mages could have two or more Meditation Law Sets, or just like William, start with one at first before being taught a different one later. He would soon replace it with the thirteen-formula Meditation Law Set.

But even William Merlin could only master the latter Meditation Law Set. In other words, William would only have one.

However, Jason Wagrain, that Gaugass King, had three meditation Law Sets!

Yes, he truly had three!

The Elemental Tide set, which brought him frightening mana storage, and the Runestorm set, which gave him frightening power.

When that information was dug up, it created a stir in Noscent.

After all, whether it was the Elemental Tide or the Runestorm, they both had 13 formulas and would normally be unable to coexist. No mage could carry such a burden.

Thus, the mages became more focused on studying Jason Wagrain's power.

They discovered that the third Meditation Law set was key. In the thousand years of history in Noscent, it only appeared once, on Jason Wagrein. After the Gaugass King disappeared in the Tulan Mountains, no one else appeared with that Meditation Law Set.

It was quite funny.

That Meditation Law Set only had six formulas, and even if it was shown in the current world of Noscent, it would only be considered an inferior Meditation Law Set. It would perhaps be the kind that Lin Yun could have gotten from Seth as a student. Yet it was this Meditation Law Set that enabled Jason to use three Meditation Law Sets concurrently.

The results of that research made all of Noscent go crazy, and countless mages joined the ranks of the researchers, wanting to let this mystical Meditation Law Set reappear.

This was no joke.

Who didn't want to be able to use three Meditation Law Sets?

For hundreds of years, mages looked for everything related to Jason Wagrein.

But unfortunately…

There was still no result after several hundred years. Every single thing that happened in Jason Wagrain's life had been studied thoroughly, yet they couldn't find this mystical Meditation Law Set.

If not for so much information being clearly noted down, people would have forgotten that Jason Wagrain indeed had three Meditation Law Sets.

This drive for Jason's story continued for countless years. It was another several centuries before Sovereign of Death Sandro emerged and drew the attention away from the Gaugass King.

Naturally, that was another story.

In other words, Jason Wagrain's 3rd Meditation Law Set was another unsolved mystery of Noscent. Even Lin Yun only knew that the reason that Gaugass king reached such an outrageous realm was the 3rd Meditation Law Set's existence.

At first, Lin Yun wasn't very concerned with it.

But when Ross mentioned that the map might relate to the Elemental Tide, Lin Yun suddenly recalled that the complete Elemental Tide had been something the Gaugass King had mastered.

To be more precise…

It was the Elemental Tide and the Endless Spring forming a completely new Magic Conducting Rune, the Magic Sea. Once Jason obtained this, he became unmatched.

Ross said that they would likely obtain the rest of the inheritance by following the map.

To be honest, Lin Yun didn't really care about a complete Elemental Tide. As long as Lin Yun was willing, he could take out a more powerful Meditation Law. But Lin Yun felt that this map wouldn't just lead him to the Elemental Tide.

This was what he hoped.

In fact, almost everyone knew that the Gaugass King died in the Tulan Mountains.

And the map in Lin Yun's hands led in that direction, it led to the Tulan Mountains.

Tulan Mountains, Elemental Tide, Magic Ocean.

Everything pointed to the same person, Jason Wagrein!

It also pointed to that lost six-formula Meditation Law Set!

This tempted Lin Yun too much.

And which mage didn't want to be able to hold a lot more in his inventory?

Thus, Lin Yun firmly made his decision, resolving that he would visit the mountains no matter what.

Naturally, he had to make some preparations first.

Such as upgrading the Doom Staff.

"Cousin, we are finally here."

Just as Lin Yun was thinking of that, the carriage parked outside the Mercury Tower.

The Mercury Tower was situated in the north of Okland, near the land of Ice and Fire, Xiulan. This was the holy land of alchemists, standing tall in the verdant forest while the Yasen River slowly flowed down next to it. Green hills and clear waters stood at the foot of the tower. Alchemy puppets in humanoid form were standing guard at the entrance, looking seemingly sleepy.

But Lin Yun knew.

Each of these puppets held shocking power, and if the tower was invaded one day, these puppets would instantly activate. Under the firepower that they would rain down, even High Mages might not be able to escape unscathed.

"Hi, I am Mafa Merlin. I come from Thousand Sails City and was invited by Sir Karon. Could you please inform him of my arrival?"

"Please wait a moment." A respectful expression appeared on the guard's face when he heard this.

Soon, the guard led Karon over.

"Haha, Merlin, you finally came…" Karon welcomed Lin Yun warmly. "Unfortunately, some issues came up in the Gold Forest Plane and Teacher went over to deal with it. He would have been overjoyed to see you."

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Chapter 319: Gold Forest's Changes

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"Eh?" Lin Yun suddenly stopped when he heard this, and he gave Karon a strange look.

Although this was the first time Lin Yun had come to the Mercury Tower, he was familiar with both Karon and Suyass. He had heard quite a bit about the Mercury Tower's circumstances, so how could he not know that the Mercury Tower's puppet legion had already seized control of the Gold Forest Plane's surface? With the help of the Wood Elves, they were continuously nibbling at the underdark. Although the Elves from the underdark, also known as Drows, were fiercely resisting, their destruction was foreordained. It was only a question of time.

It could be said that the situation of the Mercury Tower's Gold Forest Plane had already been decided.

Under these circumstances, how could they still need Nolan to personally head over and take command?

'Did something happen?'

"It's nothing, just a trivial matter…" Karon shook his head with a smile, but his forced smile clearly hid a heavy expression.

"Haha…" Since Karon was unwilling to talk about it, Lin Yun wouldn't keep questioning about it. He chuckled before bringing up what he had come for. "In any case, Sir Karon, I came hoping that the Mercury Tower would do me a favor…"

"Oh?"

"It's like this, Sir Karon. I just obtained a batch of pretty good magic materials, but it would take me at least half a year to personally process it all, so I came to the Mercury Tower. I wonder if the Mercury Tower can help with these magic materials? As for the reward, I'll give 30% more than the market price for your work. The only requirement is that Master Alchemists have to be the ones processing these materials…"

"Master Alchemists…" Despite making preparations, Karon couldn't help holding his breath when he heard the main requirement. Needing Master Alchemists to process a batch of magic materials… This was enough to understand that those magic materials most likely had astonishing value.

'Hold on, magic materials…'

"Well, Merlin, I heard about a young mage throwing his wealth around at the Black Horn Auction and making Hanson Charlotte spit blood. Wasn't that you?"

"Hmm…" Lin Yun scratched his cheek, but didn't say anything.

"As expected, it was you…" Karon said before falling silent. Although he had already heard people say that this young mage was one of the richest people in the eastern part of the kingdom, he truly hadn't expected his wealth to reach the level where he could spend a few dozen million in an auction. This kind of wealth could throw the market into chaos, even in Okland.

"Well, the magic materials you earned indeed have to be processed by Master Alchemists. Let's go to my laboratory first so that I can expand my horizons. I've never seen a Star Gem this big…"

As the future master of the Mercury Tower, Karon's status wasn't much inferior to Nolan's. His alchemy laboratory was also located on the top floor. This wasn't just a symbol of status, as it also had the most advanced alchemy tools.

Even Lin Yun felt as if he was expanding his horizons by visiting Karon's laboratory. In comparison, Lin Yun's laboratory in the Gilded Rose wasn't even worth mentioning.

"Quite a big display…" Even the experienced and knowledgeable Karon couldn't help exclaiming after seeing these magic materials.

It was worthy of all the golds spent.

It was too shocking…

Let alone that Star Gem worth 20,000,000 golds, the other six magic materials could all be counted as top-quality goods. Any of these items would cause a crazy fight between alchemists if displayed. After looking at them for a long time, Karon unwillingly pulled his gaze away from them.

"Alright, Merlin, how do you plan on processing these magic materials?"

"I already prepared the processing process," Lin Yun said while taking out a stack of paper. The writing was dense with all kinds of diagrams and characters. An ordinary alchemist would feel dizzy just looking at it.

It was to the point that even Karon's expression turned more and more serious over time as he looked through.

After no less than half an hour, Karon finally put down the stack of paper.

"Well, Merlin…" Karon considered how to say what he wanted before unhappily asking, "Merlin, do you plan on locking all of the Mercury Tower's Master Alchemists away with those processing plans?"

When Lin had asked for Master Alchemists, Karon had thought of arranging for one or two of them to handle the magic materials.

But after reading through the proposal…

Karon knew that his thoughts had been too simple.

He understood once that stack of paper appeared. The magic materials were only secondary, and the processing was key. The processing methods were very complex and left Karon feeling simply amazed. That Darkness Evil Python skin, for example… Normally, the processing of a Darkness Python's skin wouldn't be too complicated because it was naturally suitable for making defensive tools and because complicated processing could destroy the patterns.

But the processing plan before his eyes wouldn't be easy.

The young mage actually asked for the pattern containing the darkness magic to be peeled off.

Karon didn't dare to believe his eyes when he saw that request. He thought it wasn't possible.

But after reading the rest, Karon found out that this request wasn't made casually, the young mage actually wrote down a feasible method. Naturally, this method would be very troublesome.

Karon estimated that even if he personally took care of this, he would still have to spend two months on it, not to mention the Mercury Tower's other Master Alchemists.

Just one Darkness Evil Python Skin was that complicated, and the remaining five magic materials wouldn't be that simple, causing Karon to wonder if Lin Yun just wanted to occupy all the Master Alchemists of the Mercury Tower.

"I can't do anything about it, Sir Karon. In all of Okland, only the Mercury Tower is able to do this kind of processing. If you don't agree to help me, I can only put the magic materials in front of me and look at them…"

"Merlin…" Karon ignored Lin Yun's flattery and explained with an awkward expression, "It's not that I refuse to help you, it's just that your processing plans are too demanding. If we truly followed your requirements, it would take up the Mercury Tower's efforts for two whole months. This would have been fine in the past, but now…"

"What's happening now?"

"Let me tell you the truth, Merlin… The Mercury Tower ran into great troubles in the Gold Forest Plane, to the point that even Teacher had to go…"

"Is it that troublesome?"

"Yeah…" Since the discussion had come this far, Karon no longer hid the truth and smiled bitterly as he explained, "The situation in the current Gold Forest Plane is very complicated. The Wood Elves deserted the alliance and detained our four puppet legions. The Drows also went crazy and are doing all they can to attack the surface. It feels as if the whole plane suddenly banded together to frantically resist us outsiders. In a month, we lost several hundred puppets and seven Great Alchemists. Even Suyass was grievously injured…"

"This is quite serious…" Lin Yun couldn't help shaking his head when he heard that. The colonization of the Gold Forest Plane had almost been completed, and as long as they could remain united with the Wood Elves, they would have the power to nibble away at the Dark Elves and eventually gain control of the plane within ten years.

The Gold Forest Plane wasn't an ordinary plane.

That plane wasn't inferior to Noscent. It was rich in natural resources and had a vast expanse of land. As long as they could conquer the Gold Forest Plane, the Mercury Tower's power would take a huge leap forward. At that time, let alone the Andlusa Kingdom, they might even be regarded as a top force in all of Noscent.

The Gold Forest Plane was truly too important to the Mercury Tower.

Important to the point that they would use everything they could for it!

"Merlin, you see, this isn't quite possible at the moment…" After Karon finished his words, he felt that a direct rejection wasn't too good, so he proposed a compromise. "There are six or seven Master Alchemists left in the Mercury Tower now. I'll let them start first and help you with the simpler processing. Naturally, time is lacking, so I estimate that they can complete one in a month."

"Indeed, time is lacking." Lin Yun nodded. Originally, he planned to borrow the Master Alchemists of the Mercury Tower to finish the processing of all the magic materials within two months. That way, the Doom Staff and the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel would be completed at around the same time.

With these two Magic Tools, he would have enough confidence to go to the Aurij Mountains.

But now, the Doom Staff might take a while…

'Forget it, it's better to finish the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel first.'

"Alright, we shall do as you say, Sir Karon. Also, can you lend me this laboratory for a few days? I wish to borrow it to process the Star Gem."

"No problem. You can use any tools here. If you need anything else, send someone to inform me. I'll go now and help arrange the processing of your magic materials."

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Chapter 320: Processing Plan

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun remained in Karon's alchemy lab for a few days, discarding all the disturbance of the outside world as he devoted himself to the processing of that Star Gem that he had paid 20,000,000 golds for.

This was a very difficult endeavor.

It was rumored to be the crystallization of a part of the essence of a star that fell. Although it was only a small part, this small part had the power of a world, which is what made Star Gems so precious.

To Lin Yun, the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel wasn't just a True Spirit Magic Tool. It was related to the Magic Array and the foundation of his magic path. The Ten Thousand Spell Wheel's embryonic form had already been completed, and now only needed the core to transform it. As for what stage it would reach after transforming, that would depend on the quality of the core.

The quality of a Star Gem couldn't be denied, considering it contained a bit of the power of a world. Lin Yun felt that this part was practically tailor-made for the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel. The Star Gem would let it reach the True Spirit Magic Tool realm, and most importantly, it would give a bit of world power to the Spell Wheel.

This bit of world power might not bring much influence at first, but as time slowly passed, and Lin Yun's strength grew greater and greater, there would sooner or later be a day where he would tread on the path to Heaven rank. At that time, this bit of world power would make it super convenient for him. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that by relying on this bit of world power, that path that Lin Yun would have to traverse would be greatly shortened.

This was the power of the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel. With the Star Gem as its core, it would let Lin Yun come into contact with world power a lot earlier than any Archmage would.

But…

It was also because of that bit of world power that the Star Gem's processing was too complicated. It couldn't be helped, as world power wasn't something Lin Yun could touch right now. He could only rely on his era-transcending knowledge and techniques to do his best to make up for the difference in ranks.

Lin Yun would normally need at least a month to complete the processing of the Star Gem.

But fortunately, he was in the Andlusa Kingdom's most advanced laboratory workshop. All the facilities inside this laboratory were truly excellent. It only took Lin Yun three days to complete the Star Gem's polishing and carving.

One shouldn't look down on the polishing and carving steps.

It was half of the processing already, especially carving the mana patterns. Since it had a bit of world power, the Star Gem was very sensitive to all forms of energy. If it was triggered, the Star Gem might release its power. Even Lin Yun wouldn't be able to resist the outburst of energy unless he had a Runic Shield active.

But the problem was that Runic Shields couldn't be kept up all the time.

Thus, he had to be very careful while carving mana patterns on the Star Gem. If there was a mistake, he would lose his life.

Lin Yun spent three days completing these two nerve-wracking tasks with the help of the advanced facilities.

He spent the rest of the day in a short meditation session before opening his eyes once again. He planned to look for a mana crystal when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Lin Yun knew that the person knocking could only be Karon.

Sure enough, as the door was pushed open, Karon walked in with an unpleasant expression.

"Something happened?"

"Well…" Karon hesitated before saying, "Merlin, there has been a small problem during the processing of your Darkness Evil Python skin. I came to consult you regarding this and to see if we can alter the processing plan."

"Alter the processing plan?" Lin Yun frowned when he heard this. If he only needed to make an ordinary Augment, there would be no issue in altering the processing plan. It would at most lose some power or maybe alter a function… But the group of magic materials had to be prepared for a custom-designed Doom Staff. They were all part of a complete system, so if any of them had an error, the whole system would collapse.

"Yes, you see…" Karon fished some papers from his pocket and gave it to him. On the very top was drawn the Annihilation Black Hole Solidification Array. "After peeling it off with this Annihilation Black Hole, it can no longer solidify. Thus, I was wondering if we should inlay a Malin Ray to make up for the flaw caused by the Annihilation Black Hole…"

"No." After just a single glance, Lin Yun shook his head to reject Karon's proposal.

"This…"

"This is really impossible. Sir Karon, although the effects of a Malin Ray are more or less the same as those of the Annihilation Black Hole, as far as I'm concerned, if this cannot solidify an Annihilation Black Hole, the entire Darkness Evil Python skin will become useless to me…"

"Merlin, it's only using a Malin Ray instead, there is no need to object so fiercely…" Karon frowned as he heard Lin Yun's answer. He originally agreed to help as a favor, but now, solidification of an Annihilation Black Hole had already become too much. His Master Alchemist subordinates had already started becoming noisy because of it. They felt that this kind of processing was making things too difficult and a few of them even quit working on the project. When he managed to appease them with great difficulty and said that he would consult with the young High Mage and see if everyone could take a step back, he hadn't expected the client to be so unreasonable.

Lin Yun saw Karon's expression and understood the gist of it.

After thinking about it, Karon's reaction was quite normal.

In the end, he only had himself to blame for not considering the difference between the two eras…

Solidification of an Annihilation Black Hole wasn't considered too troublesome of a task during the peak of the magic era. Any Master Alchemist could do this. But the state of alchemy was currently countless years behind that era, making this a difficult problem for the current Master Alchemists.

Realizing this, Lin Yun softly sighed. "Well, Sir Karon, there is no problem with solidifying an Annihilation Black Hole, as long as…"

"Hold on…" Karon's expression changed before Lin Yun could finish his sentence.

He immediately fetched an eyeball-sized crystal ball from his pocket.

The crystal ball was flickering with a dazzling red light as it showed a scene, and a faint smoke filled the battlefield.

"Shit, something happened in the Gold Forest Plane. I have to go help right away. Merlin, if there is nothing else, you should stay in the Mercury Tower for now and we can continue this discussion on how to solve the problem of the solidification of the Annihilation Black Hole when I come back…"

"Ah…" Lin Yun felt worried when he heard that. Planar Wars could easily take months or years… If he waited until Karon was back, wouldn't he be wasting his time? He needed the Doom Staff to explore the Tulan Mountains… Thinking of this, Lin Yun immediately stopped the leaving Karon. "How about I discuss the problem of solidifying the Annihilation Black Hole with the Master Alchemists of the Mercury Tower?"

"Good, good, you go talk with them, they are in the laboratory underneath this one." Karon couldn't spend any more time on this and hurriedly left, casting the incantation to open the Planar Path before disappearing into the void.

"Hey…" Lin Yun was stunned. 'How could he be like this? I didn't even finish talking… Forget it, time to discuss the processing plans.'

Lin Yun sighed and gave up on his plan to charge the Star Gem to its limits. He hastily cleaned up the laboratory before leaving the room and going downstairs.

At this time, the laboratory on the lower floor had already stopped working due to the problem with the Annihilation Black Hole. When Lin Yun walked in, he only saw one middle-aged Master Alchemist watching the Dark Evil Python Skin attentively while thinking deeply.

"What are you doing?" Hearing the footsteps, the middle-aged man suddenly frowned before scolding, "Do you think this is a place that just anyone can visit?"

"Ah?" Lin Yun was stunned, and before he could react, the middle-aged man continued.

"What do you mean, 'ah'?" When he noticed that Lin Yun had yet to leave, the middle-aged alchemist's frown deepened. "Whose disciple are you? How could you not understand the rules? The alchemy tools here are the most advanced in the kingdom, all the magic materials here are invaluable. You could ruin something by carelessly coming in. You couldn't afford it if you broke something, hurry up and get out of here…"

"I am Sir Karon's-" Lin Yun started, originally wanting to say, 'I am Sir Karon's friend.'

But before he could finish his sentence, that middle-aged man interrupted him. "Sir Karon's disciple? Who are you trying to trick? You think I don't know that Sir Karon hasn't taken on a disciple in a dozen years? Tell me, who are you!? Why did you burst in here!?""What? You don't want to tell me? Good, wait till I catch you. I'll make your teacher come over. There are more and more people not following the rules, I want to see who taught such a kid…"

After saying that, the middle-aged alchemist stood up, before wordlessly raising his hand. The surrounding mana transformed into shackles surrounding Lin Yun.

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