Warlock of the Magus World

by Stayrr

What happens when a scientist from a futuristic world reincarnates in a World of Magic and Knights? An awesome MC is what happens! A scientist’s goal is to explore the secrets of the universe, and this is exactly what Leylin sets out to do when he is reincarnated. Dark, cold and calculating, he makes use of all his resources as he sets off on his adventures to meet his goal. Face?

10. 268

Read Warlock of the Magus World - Chapter 268 – Obliteration online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 268 Obliteration

"Now, it's your turn!"

Leylin turned back, coldly staring at Desmund.

……

Days later, shocking news spread throughout the south coast.

The dark Magi had attacked the Four Seasons Garden's headquarters once again, and all the Magi there had been completely wiped out. The entrance to the secret plane had been destroyed, and even the rank 2 Magus who had come to provide support had died in battle.

What made this news even more shocking was that in this battle, even the dark Magi who had attacked had not garnered any benefits. Not only had the leader, Cabourn, died, even the elites of the dark Magi had been completely annihilated too.

After the battle, Leylin's name was spread far and wide.

As someone who had killed off two rank 2 Magi and even destroying the entrance to the secret plane, Leylin was now on the wanted list of both the light and dark Magi.

Any rank 2 Magi held immense power in the south coast, and were highly regarded.

A rank 2 Magi going solo and not bound by any restriction, and who also possessed the terrifying ability to control a battle! Leylin's existence was now one feared by many highly-ranked Magi!

His nickname as the "Demonic Poison King" began to spread.

In a region called the Land of Eternal Light.

A castle-like building that was upside-down was somehow standing upright. The defensive runes on the surface of the building constantly flickered. This was where the Botelli Family, who were rumoured to hold divination abilities, resided. Though their power had declined in the past few hundred years, they still retained some of the power from when they were at their peak. Beside the gate to the castle were two strange stone guards.

In front of the gate were two statues with large swords plunged into the ground. These two statues were over ten metres tall and two to three metres wide. Whether it was their appearance or weapons, they gave off an intimidating aura.

Within the castle, in a basement filled with white chilly air.

It was filled with translucent blocks of ice. At the centre of the cold room was a transparent ice coffin. With a pair of hands placed on her lower abdomen, a girl of noble blood and an elegant temperament was quietly lying within.

Though Jenna was still in a coma, the curse on her body was already beginning to spread. Black lumps of flesh and veins constantly spread. On Jenna's face, black gas would not dissipate, and it looked something like little snakes constantly spiralling.

With these snakes attached to her, Jenna's eyelids kept moving and she looked to be in immense pain.

It had been almost a month since Leylin had set up the curse, and it was already on the verge of completely exploding.

Without a cure, Jenna would likely end up like Manla, who had turned into a set of dried up bones!

Boom!* The door to the ice room was pulled open, and the old woman who had met with Leylin walked in.

"Jenna, the guide of our generation! Based on the will of the mighty Mother of Peace, you shall continue to exist in this world!"

The old woman mumbled, and then placed a blood-red key on the freezer.

Weng weng!* Red rays were emitted from the key and began to seep into the ice coffin. The red light covered Jenna's body in an instant.

Under the illumination of the red light, the black gas on Jenna's face began to vanish. The terrifying might of the curse waned at a rate that could be seen by the naked eye.

"The talisman to undo the curse provided by Leylin is effective, as expected!" The old woman looked at the freezer that was emitting red light, and her expression brightened.

After having traded to Leylin the incomplete high-grade meditation technique that was inherited generation to generation in exchange for the talisman, she was able to rush back before the curse completely exploded!

"Leylin Farlier, you sinner! You shall be punished and judged by the Mother of Peace!" The old woman made a few hand signs and prayed in a low voice.

Drip! Drip!*

Droplets of blood-red liquid formed from the key and penetrated through the layer of ice, and dripped onto Jenna's pale, snow-white neck.

Tss tss!* White gas rose from the area on Jenna's neck that was covered by the blood-red liquid as it began to recover at a visible rate.

Weng!*

Jenna, who had been unconscious all this time, suddenly opened her eyes!

Boom! Boom! Boom!* The ice coffin shattered into pieces, and strange undulations traveled throughout the ice room.

The old woman was extremely familiar with this energy fluctuation. This was a phenomenon that happened when their guide was making a prophecy!

"She's going to start now?" A bewildered look appeared on her face.

"I see countless deaths! Demon king! A demon king with toxic abilities is approaching…"

Jenna's eyes suddenly rolled back to show whiteness, and a low and gasping voice was heard.

"Toxic? Demon king? Could it be…" The old woman was startled and suddenly recalled the latest news.

Weng Weng!*

The blood-red key from before suddenly hovered in the air, producing glaring rays of light.

"A tracking imprint? This is bad!" The old woman's eyes widened!

At this moment, outside the upside-down castle, Leylin in black robes appeared.

"Is this the rumoured upside-down castle? It really is quite strange!"

Leylin lifted his hood and sized up the building in front of him, sighing in admiration.

After killing two rank 2 Magi, he knew that he would be chased by both light and dark Magi factions. Hence, he had changed his clothes and escaped out of the secret plane via another exit.

Though there were strict testing methods at each entrance, these were all tests that picked out the aura of precious materials gathered from the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, preventing them from being smuggled out.

With Leylin's abilities as a rank 2 Warlock, it was naturally effortless for him to escape.

As for the sensing of any items, Leylin had placed them in the spatial leather pouch. With the isolation from spatial runes, even the most refined detection spell formations would not discover any traces.

Leylin raised his right hand, and on his wrist, a red key-shaped imprint was pulsating with light.

"It's here!"

Leylin grinned as he looked at the tracking imprint.

The place where Jenna's family was located was hard to find. It could be said that even Hyder needed the old woman's directions in order to enter. There was no real map.

In the trade with this old woman, Jenna's family's grandmother did not have good intentions and wanted Leylin to take this incomplete high-grade meditation technique and be taken over by it. Leylin, similarly, was not kind and added a tracking imprint into the talisman.

With the help of the imprint, he was finally able to locate the nest of Jenna's family.

"Though the high-grade meditation technique, Sacred Flame, is incomplete, it is still unique! Its nature is extremely troublesome, and only one person in the world is able to train in it at a time."

Leylin's lips curved as bloodlust overcame in. He did not have a good impression of this egocentric family. Since he'd found where they were, it was natural that he would want to get things over and done with.

"Halt!" The two statue guards at the gate came to life and their muscles rippled as they yelled in a low tone.

"Two magical beings? Together, their power is almost equivalent to a rank 1 Magus!" Leylin's eyes flashed, already pinpointing information about these guards.

"This level of defense for a Magus family is not half bad!"

Leylin waved his arm and two large black fireballs flew out, meeting the large statue guards that had whipped out their weapons.

Bang! Boom!*

The fireballs smashed into the large stone swords, and like water engulfed the bodies of the guards. The two guards immediately turned into two huge, black torches that burned furiously.

Under the attack of Leylin's Latent Fireball, the two statue guards that had been around for thousands of years instantly turned into a pile of black powder.

"Enemy attack!" "Who is it?"

Countless urgent voices sounded in the castle, and then the mournful, piercing sound of a copper bell. The runes on the surface of the castle began to move.

For the defense of such an ancient family, even a peak rank 1 Magus would not be able to penetrate through if it was completely activated.

"Hah…"

Leylin let out a long sigh, and streaks of silver spiritual force extended from his body. His body then mysteriously hovered in mid-air, forming a huge silver face.

"Toxic Bile!"

From the lips of the large silver face, a cold incantation was exclaimed.

The poison from the terrifying ancient creature, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, soundlessly penetrated throughout the insides of the castle!

The runes outside were entirely useless towards poison attacks. Every single person inside, whether it was an acolyte, servant or even official Magi collapsed to the ground, their bodies beginning to rot.

Not only the castle but in a range of half a km away, all the plants were beginning to dry up and rot.

Silence! The eerie silence of death! It shrouded the area, with the castle at the centre of it all.

In this large area, no being was lucky enough to survive and sunk into the eternity of death.

Bang!* The old grey gate that was still full of patterns had an ancient aura that silently toppled.

Under the corrosion of the poison, not only the defensive formation, but even the building itself was affected by the destructive force.

In the granite that seemed to be extremely solid, there were hundreds of thousands of little holes that were the result of the corrosion. The entire building swayed and looked on the verge of falling. Leylin felt as if at a light push, the entire castle would fall with a huge rumble.

In the corridor that was filled with a putrid smell, rotting corpses were everywhere.

Leylin followed the tracking imprint and advanced further, finally reaching the ice room that was far into the castle.

He entered the ice room filled with chilly white gas and saw the two corpses.

The old woman had died extremely painfully, holding test tubes that held all types of antidotes. Of course, there did not seem to be any use in it and her flesh was still rotting.

As an official Magus, her resistance was obviously more powerful than a regular person. Even when dead, her body was still more difficult to destroy.

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Chapter 269 - Arrangement

On the icy counter in the middle, Jenna's corpse lay silently. On her face, which had mostly been eaten into, all sorts of craziness could be seen, as if the expressions of different people had been mixed together. There was even a trace of relief in her smile, which made it even stranger.

The poison from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent had a vigorous corrosive effect, and the spirits of all the spirits residing in Jenna's body were being eaten into by the terrifying toxins.

"How pitiful!" After obtaining the high-grade meditation technique, Sacred Flame, Leylin had used the A.I. Chip and simulated the characteristics of this meditation technique.

Gathering generations of ancestors and keeping it in the body of descendants, this high-grade meditation technique was something even dark Magi would find furtive and terrifying!

In addition, Jenna, who was the host body, would become schizophrenic and turn into a pitiful state.

To some extent, after training in Sacred Flame and inheriting the spirits of her ancestors, Jenna had already died.

"What a strange meditation technique, and a pitiful family!" Leylin touched his chin.

The properties of Sacred Flame caused him some hints of fear. Before he completely made sense of it and researched methods to evade these effects, he was not willing to go anywhere near it.

Half a day later, Leylin left the castle.

Crash* After he left, little stones constantly slid off the castle, and huge cracks appeared on it.

Rumble!*

The castle completely collapsed and turned into a pile of rubble. From hereon, the Botelli Family was no more...

Dense clouds covered the sky, thunder and lightning occasionally could be heard.

Moments later, black raindrops descended from the horizon.

At the Teljose volcano that was not far away, a great pillar of flames suddenly erupted towards the heavens. Large amounts of volcanic ash flew to the air, and along with some man-made structures, they turned into fertilizing raindrops and descended, which provided the Teljose Plains with great vitality!

The peasants who were farming quickly knelt by the roadside, singing praises to the Magi of Nightless City.

With the protection of the Magi they had plentiful harvests that were enough for them to live on without fear for lack of food or clothing, even after paying the large taxes and contributions to their lords.

A large black handsome horse streaked through the rain, and one could vaguely see the figure of a young man.

"Hawke… What a shame…"

While urging on his horse, he lamented inside.

In the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, the range of his Toxic Bile was too fast and powerful. Even Hawke, who had been kept at the edges of the headquarters, could not escape. In this attack that did not differentiate friend from foe, Leylin lost this very convenient mode of transportation.

Leylin had needed to deal with Caesar and set up the Ten Thousand Spirit spell formation. He even needed to secretly notify Desmund, and his mind had been whirling at high speeds. The Venom Wyvern Hawke was just a pet that was a means of transportation. Without taking it into account, it had died together with the Magi on the outer layers under Leylin's poisonous attack.

"However, due to the limitations of its kind, the Venom Wyvern can only become as strong as a rank 1 Magus! After I was promoted to a rank 2 Warlock, Hawke's usefulness will only decrease bit by bit. I was going to find an opportunity to set it free, but…"

Leylin sighed, taking a moment of silence for Hawke's unfortunate passing.

He then tossed this thought to the back of his mind, focusing his attention on the large Nightless City that was towering in the rain, a cold smile about his face.

He turned the horse's head, and it diverged from its original route and galloped towards a little town inhabited by regular humans.

Due to its huge popularity, there were tens of large towns near Nightless City where regular humans lived. Like satellites, they surrounded Nightless City.

Everyday regular humans from all walks of life, people having the desire to become a Magus, fugitives, or even people who were only here because of their youth and adventurous nature discovered the brutality of reality. These humans were chased out of Nightless City and could only dither around in this sort of town.

Leylin came to a town called Clint, found a bar and entered, ordered mead, and drank it silently.

"Master!"

Ten or so minutes later, a few people dressed in black clothes with hoods arrived, and an old man who was the leader exclaimed.

"En! Come with me!"

Leylin tossed out a silver coin and brought this group of people away from the bar.

Next, the old man brought Leylin to a villa on the outskirts of the town.

"Master! After receiving your message, we immediately tidied up the supplies and left Nightless City. We rented this house and have been awaiting your return!"

After entering the villa, the leader removed the hood and revealed a silver-haired old man.

This was Damien, the level 3 acolyte slave Leylin had bought, who was also his butler. He was in charge of Leylin's property in Nightless City.

Number 4 and Number 5, the two female Grand Knights were also around. Like guards, they were vigilant by the door.

The first time he had met the boy and accepted Thousand Meddling Hand's mission to be a spy, Leylin had had a bad feeling about the whole situation and passed down the order for Damien and the rest to leave Nightless City as soon as possible.

Upon hindsight, his initial decision was the correct one. If not, Damien and the rest would have long since been taken captive by the light Magi.

"Damien! Number 4! Number 5! Can I trust you?"

Leylin looked grim.

"Master! Your wish is our command!" Hearing Leylin ask this so seriously, Damien and Number 4 and Number 5 immediately knelt on one knee, chanting the reply.

They were slaves spiritually bonded to Leylin. Like Number 2 and Number 3, they could not disobey even if Leylin wanted them to kill themselves!

"Good! Now, I want you to cross the Death Channel and return to my hometown, the Chernobyl Islands and protect my family!"

"Understood!" Damien and the other two immediately agreed.

"I want you to leave inheritances on Chernobyl Islands, and make an oath that your students will continue this mission, till the end of the world…" Leylin's voice became hoarse.

"Understood, master!" The three spiritually branded slaves trembled and bowed their heads lower.

"Good!" Leylin nodded. With a wave of his hand, three black streaks flew from his hand and entered the foreheads of the three people.

Tss Tss!* The spiritually branded slaves immediately grimaced, hands tightly grasping the ground. On their foreheads, Leylin's own secret imprint emerged.

"This is my blessing! Within is a magic attack that is as powerful as an attack from me going all out! With some rituals, it can also be passed down…"

Leylin was now a rank 2 Warlock, and there were few who had this level of strength in the entire south coast! Just an attack would cause an official Magus to be seriously injured, or even die!

The secret imprint had even more uses. The south coast had a few Magi who were proficient in divination, such as by astrology and making prophecies. With this imprint, they would be mostly immune to these spells.

Just Leylin's current might as a rank 2 Warlock meant that ordinary divination methods were useless against him.

Magi were a source of terrifying radiation and pollution, and this was even more potent for a rank 2 Magus. Leylin could feel that he was like a constant energy furnace, constantly emitting frightful energy undulations that even caused the air to distort.

At a certain level of strength, even the external world would be affected! If there was anyone who wanted to make a prophecy about Leylin right now, an ordinary rank 2 Magus was far from enough. At least a rank 3 Magus who was proficient in divination would be able to do so.

With the protection from the imprint, the three of them could find a place to find and take care of the Farlier family.

Leylin did not bank on them being able to withstand the attacks from dark and light Magi. All he wished for was for them to safeguard and defend the Farlier family from dangers in the Chernobyl Islands.

Based on standard practice in the Magus world, before confirming that Leylin was dead, any dark and light Magi would not dare strike against the Farlier family. If not, they would be met with the crazy retaliation from a Magus who had already reached rank 2 and had a terrifying destructive might!

This level of attack was something that not even the Lighthouse of the Night, which had a rank 3 Magus, would be willing to go up against!

Hence, with the protection from these spiritually bound slaves, the Farlier family that was on the Chernobyl Islands were completely safe, and would also receive a huge boost to develop further!

"These three people and their successors should be able to protect the Farlier family for at least five hundred years! In that case, I do not have to feel anymore guilt towards them…"

Leylin huffed out a sigh. His body belonged to the original Leylin Farlier. No matter what kind of person he had been, he was still apologetic for having possessed someone's flesh and blood.

But if he had to return and acknowledge a bunch of strangers to be his relatives and even parents, then he was not going to do that.

In the end, not concerning himself with them was his best choice. If that did not work, it was still possible for him to wait a few hundred years and wait till everyone Leylin knew died, and then give their family some advantages.

"And this!"

Leylin pondered for a moment, and then removed the dark red cross pendant from around his neck.

This was the middle-grade magic artifact he had carefully made—the Fallen Star Pendant!

After becoming a rank 2 Warlock, the help this magic artifact rendered him was insurmountable. Due to the limitations of the resources he had, it was difficult for the Fallen Star Pendant to be powered up any further.

"Bring this back too! If a successor of the Farlier family with potential to become a Magus appears, give it to him!"

Leylin handed the Fallen Star Pendant over, and at the same time, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

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Returning To Town

The cold breeze swept past, leaving behind pieces of dried leaves swirling in the air, which danced like butterflies.

The crystal clear stream flowed silently, adding to the tranquility in this area.

A grey squirrel shook its fluffy tail and ascended the tree as fast as lightning, and rapidly gnawed on the acorn it held. From time to time, it would twist its little head to observe its surroundings.

Ka-Cha!* A dried piece of wood was stepped on and broke. The squirrel was startled as it let go of the acorn it held and climbed even higher in the tree. It looked down in apprehension at the human figure who had broken the peace in the area.

"The last time I've been here was less than a year ago, wasn't it? To think that it had actually changed this much…"

Leylin exclaimed as he glanced at his surroundings.

He had returned back to the small town where the Old Devil had brought him on an expedition to the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect.

Only this town had already been reduced to ruins.

A murky green vine crept around the town's ruins, in which the occasional figures of animals could be seen flitting past. However, there were no signs of human traces at all.

From the many visible indications, the inhabitants of this town had voluntarily chosen to forsake their homes soon after Leylin's expedition.

"This is the fear towards Magi!" Leylin shook his head and did not feel the slightest shock regarding this turn of events.

Although Leylin and the others came here covertly and did not slay any of the inhabitants, they still put the town's people in a deep slumber for three days. However, the residents would only associate these eerie methods with Magi!

It was known that Magi of the light Magi domain would be more friendly to regular humans on the surface.

However, who could have guaranteed that the residents would not see a dark Magus? Hence the flustered residents immediately chose to report it to the authorities.

However, during that time the Eternal Rivers secret plane had just been made public knowledge to all Magi. The strength of the light Magi had been concentrated there, so no one had the leisure to bother with a desolate little town who had suspected dark Magi activities. Furthermore, no deaths were reported!

Hence, the light Magi alliance only sent out several level 3 acolyte to investigate the matter.

Naturally, these acolytes would not be able to see past the disguise set up by an official Magus. Hence, the entrance of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane was not discovered. After searching the area to no avail, the group of acolytes could only conclude and report that there were dark Magi who had long since left, apparently achieving their goals in the area.

This degree of danger would naturally not attract the attention of the light Magi alliance, and things had been dragged till this state.

Even if the light Magi did not treat it with importance, how could the residents who had been living in the town their whole lives not mind?

Afterall, under the influence of the light Magi, they had often heard of dark Magi eradicating kingdoms throughout their childhood and as they aged into adults. Although the investigators had already concluded that the dark Magi left, there was always the 'what ifs'.

Hence, without any further support, the residents chose to leave this town.

Afterwards, several supernatural incidents in the area had caused the few elderly folks in the town, who had chosen to stay back, to disappear without a trace. These incidents had caused the town to be fully abandoned by all.

Leylin indifferently thought back to the news he had received of the town. After instructing Damien and the rest to defend his family, he had journeyed to this area and prepared to look at the ancient teleporting spell formation once again.

For the sake of advancing into a rank 2 Warlock, he had destroyed one of the gates to the secret plane and even killed two rank 2 Magi!

This animosity that was created was unusually huge! Although Leylin had confidence in his own strength, he still had to be wary of the fact that the light and dark Magi had their trumps cards: Magi who had reached rank 3!

Right now, Leylin was admittedly not a match for opponents of that level, hence he had decided not to tarry after choosing his escape route.

The dark and white Magi had already infiltrated every corner of the south coast, hence it was not possible to hide here.

Many terrifying and dangerous regions were also located on the south coast. Even for official Magi, going there would mean a 90 percent chance of death. If Leylin were to wander in those areas without any detailed information, then he would be a fool!

Moreover, even if Leylin's luck was good and he successfully managed to traverse past those domains, he might arrive in a barren wasteland like the Chernobyl Islands. Leylin still wished to walk further down the path of a Magus, hence he would not be willing to go to such an area.

However, the ancient teleporting spell formation was different! The distance of the teleportation was vast; it would at least span a distance several times that of the south coast. There was even a possibility that it would lead to another world!

Around the Magus World, there were several mighty worlds and planes. In ancient times, the ancient Magi conquered one world after another, and analysed the unique laws in those worlds to strengthen themselves!

This ancient teleporting spell formation was very likely linked to a world or domain that the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect had once dominated.

Moreover, the place that the teleportation would lead to was definitely a place abundant with resources, at the very least on par with the south coast. Otherwise, why would the ancient Magi have the leisure to create this teleporting spell formation? The cost of creating one was not a small figure, it was enough to cripple the finances of a faction like the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect. Leylin strongly believed that its creation was not merely for the sake of having a means to escape.

"Speaking of which, I wonder how that Gargamel, Old Devil, and Jaye are?"

Leylin stroked his chin.

Although he had already advanced into a rank 2 Warlock, he still had fear towards the Gargamel which had been borne through the fusion of countless vengeful spirits!

Afterall, it had been sealed for God knows how many years by the sect, and actually had the strength of a rank 2 Magus immediately upon its return!

One must know that the Black Horrall Snake back in the Dylan Gardens had regressed from a rank 3 Magus into an acolyte's level after such a long sealing period!

According to Leylin's estimation, the Gargamel inside the secret plane had at least reached the strength of a rank 4 Magus before it was sealed!

In ancient times, Magi of these levels had another term coined after them—Morning Star Magi!

According to the description of the Book of Giant Serpent by the Great Magus Serholm, after a Magus enters rank 3, their body will undergo a very long bottleneck period. For a rank 3 Magus to advance into a rank 4 Magus, the difficulty will surpass every prior advancement. It could even be likened to the fact that the difficulty of a regular human into a rank 3 Magus was far simpler than that of from a rank 3 Magus to a rank 4 Magus!

Even in ancient times, rank 4 Magi were rulers of their regions. As for their title, it was Morning Star!

What was a Morning Star? High above in the sky! Unparalleled! Eternal!

Magus who were able to advance in rank 4 were worthy of such a title! Moreover, their lifespan would be lengthened by a massive amount. Even living to a thousand years old was just child's play! To regular humans or even lowly ranked Magi, this was already reaching the realm of being immortal!

At this level, Magi would really be able to control the devastating powers of flipping mountains and burning seas! It was ineffective to use a sea of people to fight against such power! Just one of them would rival the existence of an army of lower leveled Magi!

It was a totally different idea from the Lightning Corps. Magus armies back in ancient times had at least tens of thousands of official Magi, including several tens of rank 2 Magi! As for captains and vice captains, rank 3 Magi were definitely the ones who held these posts!

If the Lightning Corps was of a standard like this, Leylin would have long since been dead.

However, a Morning Star Magus could obliterate the forces of the ancient Magus army!

The Gargamel which Leylin had seen before had already undergone a long sealing period. However, upon its return, it had the strength of a rank 2 Magus! The strength it had before must have at least been that of a Morning Star Magus!

To put it bluntly, such an existence could kill Leylin with just a finger.

If not for several sources of information which had confirmed the departure of the Gargamel from this area, Leylin would have never dared step foot in here again.

In an area close to the Nightless City, Leylin had given several of his spiritually bonded slaves missions before infiltrating the city.

With his methods now as a rank 2 Warlock, he could even avoid detection from a fellow rank 2 Magus, not to mention regular guards, by using the spiritual force compression technique.

After spending some of his magic crystals, he then easily obtained the information he needed.

All of the attention in the south coast was still on the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. As for the latest and hottest news, it was the birth of a newly advanced rank 2 Magus, Leylin!

As someone who had destroyed a gate to the secret plane and killed two rank 2 Magus, Leylin had already been put in the crosshairs of the dark and light Magi alliances. Even the danger level attributed to him was of the highest level!

In the south coast, a rank 2 Magus was already a force to be reckoned with like Chairman Siley of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. If Leylin was still in the academy, he could even participate in the turmoil for the Chairman's successor.

Although Leylin was listed as 'wanted' on the surface, many organisations had secretly offered him a position and even promised abundant benefits.

However, Leylin only chuckled at such ideas.

The resources he had pilfered were enough for him as a rank 2 Magus. Moreover, it was not easy to come out from this mess, he did not wish to be embroiled in such troublesome issues once again.

Apart from his information, the other news which had piqued his interest was the spirit plague in the western part of the south coast.

In several regular human kingdoms, there had been a very odd disease spreading!

People who had caught this disease would not suffer from any illness. Only that several tiny black spots would appear on their face and waist areas, where they would slowly be thinned down.

After seven days when the black spots became extremely huge, the diseased would then die without a sound.

After the light Magi's investigation, the spirits of the afflicted had disappeared without a trace. As for such methods, they were very similar to the spirit plague released by the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect!

This disease had a high contamination rate, which had already amounted to a casualty number of over a hundred thousand regular humans.

Even the light Magi alliance, who had their sights set on the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, sent a rank 2 Magus as the investigation head for this matter.

The most useful piece of information they had acquired was that in areas where the contamination rate was the highest, they had discovered the traces of the devout from the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect. As for their leader, it was none other than the Gargamel!

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Materialisation

"Heh! It's harvesting spirits to recover its strength huh?"

Leylin figured out the purpose behind this Gargamel's actions.

This Gargamel, which had apparently regressed from the Morning Star Magus rank, would most likely be harvesting a massive amount of human spirits in order to regain its former strength.

As a collective body that was fused from countless vengeful spirits, the Gargamel did not have to increase its spiritual force through meditation like other Magi. What it needed to do was to absorb vengeful spirits. The more afraid and in anguish they were, the faster it could recover its strength!

And after it had collected all the spirits it needed, the Gargamel would regain the power it had once wielded.

For the south coast, this was a calamity!

To regain back its strength, the Gargamel had to absorb the spirits of at least 30 million regular humans. This number was equivalent to one-third of the total population in the south coast; the dark and light Magi would definitely not agree to it.

Moreover, no one could say for sure what the Gargamel would do after regaining its strength!

Leylin sneered. "But what has all this got to do with me? I'll leave this headache to the respective chairmen of the dark and light Magi alliance!"

He was no saint, nor was he like that bunch of lunatics from the Botelli Family, who had assumed the role of the protector of the world.

With his memory, Leylin was extremely familiar with the route to the small town. He walked towards what had once been the town's centre, to where the two storey wooden house was.

This location itself was rather remote, and cobwebs and dust were strewn in the entrance. This appearance made it look extremely unstable, as if a gentle breeze would blow the house down.

However, Leylin was not fooled by such an appearance. He raised his finger, on which a white glow of light converged.

Weng Weng!*

Leylin's finger seemed to have caused some sort of resonance, and covert runes began to crawl like ants to where Leylin's foot was.

"The barrier to hide this area is actually still present?"

Leylin was somewhat astonished. Soon afterwards, he walked to the second level, to where there was an oil painting of an upper-class lady. This was the entrance to the secret plane that had long since been destroyed by Leylin.

"This secret plane was only a small-scale one, and the barrier of the space and isolation were not so strong. If they had strength comparable to the ones in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, that Gargamel would most likely still be confined in here."

Leylin reached out his right hand and touched the rough, black surface of the wall.

There was a thin layer of greyish black material, which had a granule-like feel to the touch.

Leylin's expression was extremely solemn. On the wall, apart from him feeling that his fire energy particles were affected, there was an additional spiritual force!

This force was extremely subtle, and could not have been discovered if one was not being cautious enough. It gave Leylin a vaguely familiar feeling.

"This spiritual force is filled with evil intent! There's no doubt about it—it's the spirit residue from that Gargamel! It had already escaped…"

Although he could surmise the escape of the Gargamel from the information that he had received, Leylin could only relax after confirming the evidence with his own eyes.

"However, it even laid an alert-type barrier, huh? It seems to have been set up for me…"

Leylin grinned. This Gargamel's methods were extremely covert. However, it was only useful against regular Magi. The Leylin from before might already have noticed it using the A.I. Chip, not to mention now, when he had the strength of a rank 2 Warlock. This Gargamel's tricks were ineffective against him.

Furthermore, Leylin's strength had increased by leaps and bounds, and that Gargamel had only set this alert to match the strength it had witnessed when it had first seen Leylin. Hence, such a miscalculation could occur.

"A.I. Chip! Scan!" Leylin ordered.

Very soon, a layer of scanning ripple that only Leylin could see was on the field. After Leylin advanced into a rank 2 Magus, the A.I. Chip seemed to have received a very large improvement. The task of scanning was completed in an instant.

[A concealed type of spiritual force was discovered; determined to have been left behind by a rank 2 creature! The type is attributed to that of an ancient spirit's barrier of the second form, analysing…" The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

In the database of the A.I. Chip, there was an immense collection of pictures and information. Furthermore, after Leylin had gained control of the headquarters of the Four Seasons Garden in the secret plane, he had obtained all of the data that were available to him, and had saved it inside the A.I. Chip's database. Right now, Leylin could be said to be a true scholar— an existence that was extremely rare on the south coast.

A silver thread of spiritual force released a unique glow that was filled with a strong yet mysterious quality. It stretched out from between Leylin's brows and spiralled in midair, before writhing into the shape of a rune and imprinting itself onto the wall.

Ka-Cha!* As if something had been shattered, the alert-type barrier that the Gargamel had left behind was completely destroyed.

With Leylin's current strength as a rank 2 Warlock, the act of breaking such a barrier was extremely easy, and would not raise the awareness of the other party.

"The might of the materialisation of spiritual force is definitely not ordinary!"

The corners of Leylin's lips curled up as he felt the firmness and power of his own spiritual force.

A rank 2 Magus had definitely reached a higher realm than a rank 1 Magus. Between the levels, not only did they have superb control over the modification of their own body and obtain various types of power, but they could then choose from the various paths and specialisations and walk further down the path of their own specialisation.

However, there was one ability that all rank 2 Magus had to cultivate in. That was the materialisation of their spiritual force!

This process was to materialise a faintly discernable spiritual force from nothingness using energy particles.

This type of materialisation could only be performed after having their elemental essence conversion reach at least 80 percent. The materialisation of the spiritual force using energy particles far surpassed the might of regular spiritual force. It was also one of the criteria needed to advance into a rank 3 Magus!

Breaking through to a rank 3 Magus required a minimum amount of spiritual force, and also a certain threshold where a rank 2 Magus could materialise their spiritual force.

Right now, Leylin was only at the starting point for the materialisation of his spiritual force, but he had already discovered the benefits of using such materialised spiritual force.

Spiritual force was, in fact, a catalyst for spells. After increasing in power through the use of a spell model and conversion, it would draw from the energy particles in the surroundings?

Right now, the spiritual force, which was acting as the catalyst, had been strengthened. No matter which spell was cast, its might would be increased!

Hence, the power of a rank 1 spell from a rank 2 Magus would far surpass the one that a rank 1 Magus had cast.

"Fortunately I made preparations to overcome the isolation of the secret plane!"

After expelling the Gargamel's spiritual force, Leylin looked at the already broken entrance, and sized up the surroundings, before withdrawing various items from his spatial pouch.

Through several past instances of extortion and plundering, Leylin had amassed a huge cache of resources that would even leave a rank 2 Magus gaping. The Insatiable Bottomless Pouch was almost filled with stocks of various ingredients. Hence, setting up a spell formation was not a problem.

Leylin's movements were extremely quick as he withdrew many different coloured gems and other bizarre items from the pouch and placed them on the floor. He also used a silver powder to draw out a triangular magic symbol on the floor.

Shua Shua Shua!*

Leylin's right hand turned into claws. and several crucial spots in the spell formation were hollowed out to form the necessary shapes.

Soon after, he crushed the gems and energy jewels on the floor with his left hand!

Kacha!

Resplendent layers of light slowly spread out from the energy nodes of the gems, and like water, they slowly filled up the boundaries of the formation.

The spell formation seemed to have come alive, and it began to tremble, emitting beams of light.

Large amounts of visible distortion began to appear in midair above the spell formation.

Tiny specks of red light seemed like fireflies as they flickered within these distortions.

"What's next is the localisation of the secret plane's position!"

Leylin shut both his eyes and recalled the memory of when he was last in the secret plane of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect, searching for this familiar aura within the distortions in the air.

The various red specks of light, which were the weak spots of the void, flickered. If Leylin were to choose the wrong one, he would immediately be lost in the chaos of space and ripped into shreds by it!

At this moment, a darker coloured red glow appeared, and in it was an aura of spirits that Leylin was familiar with!

Leylin opened his eyes in solemnity, and a silver light flashed from his pupils!

"It's in here!"

"Sword of Memphis!" Leylin raised his right hand and clenched his fist as he slashed downwards!"

In the twinkling of the silver light, a transparent longsword appeared in his hands.

The slim blade accurately slashed at the darker red glow of light.

Ka-Cha!*

The slash was as fast as lightning, and very soon, the darker red glow exploded, turning into a pitch black tunnel.

Without the slightest hesitation, Leylin dashed into it.

Moments later, after travelling through the darkness, Leylin once again emerged in the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane.

"Wu!" Leylin rubbed his forehead, "Opening the isolation tunnel of space is, indeed, very troublesome. It's very difficult to pinpoint it through the chaos of space…"

Very soon, he sized up his surroundings.

It was not very far away from the entrance that he had entered before, and Leylin still had some recollections of this place. However, what was different from before was that the surroundings here seemed to have been abused by a hurricane that was over magnitude ten. The surroundings were in shambles.

"Gargamel definitely threw a tantrum in here! I hope the teleporting spell formation is still alright!"

Leylin thought, before sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Hissss!" A huge black mist spread from behind his body, turning into many tiny black snakes with red eyes.

"Go forth!" Leylin whispered.

With his command, the countless tiny black snakes began to roam around in the surroundings. As for Leylin, he closed his eyes and used his spiritual force to sense everything inside the secret plane.

As he had the map of the secret plane that he had previously recorded, the searching was much simpler this time around.

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Mending

Previously, on the peak of the mountain of white bones where the Gargamel was sealed, Leylin had made a map.

He later that found out that this was the main map of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect, and it was essential in his escape from there.

What he now needed to do was to explore the area and make a comparison with the map that he possessed.

Time passed slowly, and the state of the secret plane was presented in front of Leylin.

The secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect was largely ruined. Not only had all sorts of mechanisms been completely destroyed, but Leylin could not even find a single complete building.

It seemed that the Gargamel that had been sealed here must have been full of grievances.

That huge mountain of white bones and all the materials in the laboratory were all gone. Even the cabinets full of information were all empty, and it was obvious that the Gargamel had ransacked the area.

The little black snake that Leylin controlled with his mind approached a silver passageway meant to be used as an emergency exit.

The metal was well preserved and seemed to emanate a strong power that could subdue spirits. However, there were a few large stones that had been thrown inside, which were now obstructing the way.

The black snake easily slipped through the gaps in between the rocks and came to the place where Leylin had initially found the secret room.

Rumble!* After pressing the power switch, a side of the wall slowly opened to reveal a secret room.

This room was extremely small, with a black spell formation in the centre that was surrounded by four stone pillars. Beside one of the pillars was the remains of a Magus.

Sssii!*

The little black snake circled the spell formation and suddenly began to hiss.

Black flames began to burn from the surface of its scales.

The flames became increasingly intense, gradually forming a doorway with abstruse spatial runes on its frame.

"It's here!"

Leylin came out from the door of flames, and upon seeing that the spell formation had not been damaged, he looked satisfied.

"A.I. Chip! Scan the teleportation spell formation!" Leylin pressed his temples, and a blue light that only he could see began to sweep the spell formation.

[Beep! Scanning complete! Intactness of spell formation is 98.7%. Lack of energy present!]

The A.I. Chip quickly responded.

"Compared to 98.8% from the previous time, it has slightly been worn down. Looks like the area of destruction by that Gargamel was quite substantial, for even this place to have been affected."

Leylin rubbed his chin and ordered, "Based on the information I received regarding teleportation, begin tests simulating the restoration of the formation."

In his previous exploration, Leylin had obtained a diary from the skeleton here, which included information regarding the teleportation formation. With additional information that had he later gathered, he had learned the complete technique of the ancient teleportation spell formation; correcting this little imperfection would not be the least bit difficult.

Based on the calculations of the A.I. Chip, the formation only needed to be 97% completed to work, but it was still possible for there to be problems!

Leylin was not going to risk anything when it came to this long distance teleportation. Whether it was spatial distortions or the explosions of spatial elemental particles, anything could leave him dead without leaving any traces.

He did not want to die in some stupid accident.

[Beep! Scanned incomplete portion, beginning simulation of restoration process…]

As the A.I. Chip sounded, Leylin felt as if he had arrived right at the spell formation. His fingers slid like the most precise surgical scalpel as he mended the teleportation spell formation.

The runes carved onto the spell formation were extremely dense and complicated. They were more than ten times tinier than a strand of hair, and Leylin himself did not have the confidence that he could do this in one try and without errors. However, with the aid of the A.I. Chip, his every movement was filled with grace and fluidity. In less than an hour, he had already completed mending the few areas that were incomplete.

Weng!* The blue light disappeared, and Leylin returned to normal. The feeling he had just experienced lingered in his mind.

In front of him, the black teleportation spell formation still retained its original state without any signs of change.

"The A.I. Chip's simulated experiments are becoming increasingly vivid!"

Leylin's hands flashed as they moved, his fingers forming all sorts of symbols and hand gestures. These were techniques that he had used while mending the spell formation. All sorts of complicated and profound signs were flawlessly made with his hands, as if they had been practised countless times, "Such a unique feeling had already been put to muscle memory…"

Seeing the signs being made so fluently despite only being used once in the simulation, it looked as if Leylin had trained for a decade. A flash of awe appeared on his face.

Leylin immediately thought of other areas in which this would be useful. For instance, learning rank 2 spells! Though he had used the A.I. Chip to aid him in using magic spells through the use of spell models, the movements were stiff and robotic, just like Magi who were training in something for the first time.

But this situation was different. If he used the A.I. Chip's simulation, his manipulation of his spells would reach a whole new level.

Though this was just a short simulation, Leylin now had a rather in-depth knowledge regarding the teleportation spell formation. Though he might not be able to set it up, simple maintenance was not a problem.

Leylin approached the side of the spell formation.

"Thank you for your teleportation spell formation, Lord Magus!" He first went to the skeletal remains of the Magus and bowed towards it. A large black hand then descended, countless tendrils extending and propping up the skeleton.

Boom!* A huge pit was dug with the hand and the skeleton was placed within. Soil and stones fell, and this became a grave.

"The area is ugly, so this is the only way to give you a proper burial."

Leylin sighed and then came to the front of the spell formation.

"Naz's Hand, third formation!" Leylin made a spell pattern, and from the tip of his fingers, silver threads were sent out and entwined themselves along the surface of the spell formation…

Two hours later, the teleportation spell formation was now completely restored to its original state, as if it were brand new. Not only were a few damaged portions mended, even some of the original runes were improved using the A.I. Chip.

Leylin looked at the surface of this new spell formation, and his breathing became a little coarse.

"Next is the most important step, which is to test whether this spell formation is functional…"

The leather pouch at his waist automatically opened, and a black crystal flew out and dropped into the energy groove in the teleportation spell formation.

Within this crystal was a pure darkness, with even some transparent, distorted flames burning within. This was the essence of the magic crystals he had purified! The consumed had totalled over a thousand magic crystal cards, which meant a value of over a ten million magic crystals!

Although the ancient teleportation spell formation could send a Magus far away, the energy required to do was also monstrous.

If not for Leylin's recent successes in plundering, it would be difficult to gather this amount of magic crystals.

Rumble!* After the essence of the magic crystal was deposited into the groove, the spell formation began to rumble.

Mysterious magic runes began to light up, and bright rays lit up every corner of the spell formation

Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

Threads of pure energy from the magic crystal was extracted from the spell formation and poured into the ancient spell formation.

From the bottoms of the four stone pillars, rings of light emerged and spread to the tops of the pillars, until the top suddenly exploded to reveal a hole.

Piercing light rushed out of the centre of the pillars and formed four differently coloured bundles of light, which hovered at the tops of the pillars.

Earthen brown, fiery red, heavenly green, and azure balls of light silently appeared in mid-air.

"Oh? This power!" Within these four balls of light, Leylin could feel the familiar air of energy particles.

"These are… Earth, fire, wind and water?" Leylin was dazed and immediately recognised the natures of these balls of light.

He touched his chin and pondered deeply.

In a few ancient schools of thought, there had once been a concept that earth, fire, wind, and water formed the foundations of the world!

From the looks of it, the Spirit Slaying Sect also held such a thought.

"Activate!" Leylin exclaimed loudly, using a language that he had never utilised, which was full of a cryptic and ancient aura.

This was the Turian language that the Spirit Slaying Sect used! After recording information regarding this with the A.I. Chip, Leylin had effortlessly learnt this language.

Weng Weng!*

Four energy balls constantly fluctuated, and different coloured rays extended from the balls, converging above the heart of the teleportation spell formation.

Ka-cha!*

As if the fabric of space had been split in two, and as if lightning had descended, huge spatial distortions appeared in front of Leylin and became a depthless hole.

"Now the teleportation is working!" Leylin immediately came up with a backup plan. No matter whether or not he would need this teleportation spell formation, it would be an escape route if he ever required one.

"Should I go over?" A tempting thought appeared in his mind, but he mercilessly suppressed it.

Based on his conjectures and the A.I. Chip's estimations regarding space, spell formations like these did not consume a lot energy from the magic crystals, but the moment a real and living subject went through, the required energy would be enough to extract and consume all the power in the essence of the magic crystals!

Leylin was still not clear about the situation at the other end of the teleportation formation, and naturally could not take such a risky chance. In addition, the magic crystal consumption from the trip was bound to break Leylin's heart.

Without seeing the teleportation spell formation at the other end, Leylin was unable to tell if he could return safely. What if it is was a one-way trip?

"En! Spiritual force can't penetrate through, and detection spells are useless. There has to be another way…"

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Brambles Iron Door

After that, Leylin used a couple of different methods to try to investigate the situation at the other end of the tunnel, but none of them worked.

His spiritual force still wasn't able to see through space and every detection Magus' spell was connected directly to spiritual forces so all of his plans didn't work.

After taking one last deep look at the tunnel, Leylin was extremely reluctant as he deactivated the Magus' formation.

Ka Cha!*

The magic stone crystal in the groove of the magic formation automatically flew to Leylin's hand and the various light rays emitted from it became slightly dimmer.

"Hmm? 10% of its power was consumed?" Leylin frowned a little when he felt the loss in power of the magic stone crystal.

It was similar to using one million magic stones in the span of a short moment!

Moreover, Leylin didn't send any living creature through it and just used his spiritual force to investigate it! Otherwise, the magic stone crystal would have been instantly depleted!

"In this case, I must use something like a puppet or spirit slave that can automatically move by itself so that it can head in to check it out before being summoned back!"

Leylin rubbed his lower jaw.

Following this thought, he did not hesitate any longer to leave the secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect. As he was leaving, he purposefully set a formation at the entrance to replicate the scene before he arrived as much as possible.

Even though he could observe from various signs that the Gargamel would not be able to break through to the interior emergency pathway, Leylin did not want to take the risk.

With the help of the A.I. Chip's meticulous calculations, even if the Gargamel were to personally come here, it would not be able to discover anything. This meant that his personal safety had greatly increased.

After laying down the formation, Leylin left the place.

Brambles Iron Door, located in the western part of the south coast, was a large scaled Magus market.

The reason why this place had this name was due to an enormous iron door that was completely covered with thistles and thorns that was nearby. Behind it was a medium sized Magus's secret plane!

In the south coast, the secret planes were mostly controlled by the various large Magi organizations, and this particular resource secret plane was being controlled by the wandering Magi alliance, Iron Crown.

Since the dark and light Magi had suppressed them both openly and secretly and, after having experienced countless suppressions, many wandering Magi who were sitting on the fence had finally chosen to rebel against the major alliances!

This Iron Crown was a power that had been formed from wandering Magi.

In this location, numerous wandering Magi grouped together, took charge of the nearby domains, and even controlled a middle-scaled secret plane!

Even though the middle-scaled secret plane could not be compared with the Four Seasons Garden's large scaled secret plane, it was still extremely rare and precious!

The existence of the Iron Crown was like a torch in the dark; it attracted the various wandering Magi and acolytes from the various lands of the south coast and constantly expanded.

However, it was to this point only.

Since it was a Magi alliance and controlled the management and contract agreements, the Iron Crown had always been weaker than the powerful Magi alliances. When it dealt with the outside world, it always kept a neutral position. Moreover, it only recently had flourished to the point to being just slightly stronger than the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.

Furthermore, the dark Magi organisation Abyssal Bone Forest was only ranked as a mid-tier power!

It was also unknown what the higher ups of the dark and light Magi organizations were thinking. Perhaps they couldn't be bothered to make a plot to share that piece of land and just allowed the Iron Crown to continue existing.

This place had also turned into an enormous bazaar for all Magi!

Since the wandering Magi kept a neutral position, it had become the south coast's irreplaceable free market. No matter if it was a dark Magus or a light Magus, non-affiliated Magus or one from an alliance, all Magi had free entry to this place. Since the Iron Crown watched over this area, the security could be said to be great as there were no terrible incidences that happened, which resulted the rapid creation of a good reputation.

Leylin climbed to the summit of the mountain and looked with an elated gaze at the unfortified gathering city within the flat plain not far from his position.

"Is that the Brambles Iron Door? Its scale is almost comparable to the Nightless City…"

He took advantage of his high altitude and surveyed the area. He could see flat summits and large infrastructure gathered together. It seemed to be like a spider web that was expanding outwards from the numerous pathways.

Moreover, what made him feel amazed the most was that the gathering city unexpectedly did not have fortified walls or guards. Leylin could casually see various Magi moving about in various transportation devices as they moved in the gathering city in all directions.

Leylin had not felt this kind of atmosphere when he was in the Nightless City.

"When the Iron Crown was first founded, it was born from blood and flames. Initially, the thirteen wandering Magi had their hands covered with the blood of the dark and light Magi in order to run this place and to enable a place for the wandering Magi to live……"

Leylin sighed as he put on his hat before heading towards the Brambles Iron Door.

The specialty of the gathering city was that there were no obvious boundaries. After entering the perimeter of the Bramble Iron Door, Leylin saw various kinds and types of stalls on the road side.

Those stalls were set up by the wandering Magi. Leylin could also see acolytes, Magi, and even humans that were mending the stalls.

"It seems that this place isn't inferior to the Nightless City! I wonder if I'll be able to obtain the materials that I need here…."

Leylin thought to himself that his motives in coming here were to gather information, to replenish the ingredients he used most often, and to test his luck on whether he would be able to find any detection spell models. If it really was not possible to obtain them, then he would purchase a few puppets or spirit slaves to explore the plane.

"Hmm?"

Leylin walked without a destination in mind, but his gaze suddenly focused!

At the side of the main road, a group of Magi gathered and they appeared to be looking at some form of public notice.

Various images and words were shone onto an enormous black wall so that Magi from a few hundred meters away would still be able to see it.

The words were blood red with the words 'wanted list' written in large. Below the words, pictured of the Magi, their danger levels, and bounty rewards were mentioned.

Leylin had seen this before in Nightless City, but here, he was the top on the wanted list and was described to be incredibly dangerous!

His valiant achievements in his life up until this point in time were recorded, including the fact that he killed two great rank 2 Magi.

What made Leylin astonished was that currently on the wanted list his picture had shifted a position as he was replaced by an unfamiliar Magus.

"It seems that during the period that I disappeared, the south coast has experienced some major events!"

Leylin was a little curious, so he walked forward to see the words that were being shown.

In the south coast, the majority of the wanted people were people that gathered souls, such as a black Magus that committed crimes including slaying cities and eliminating countries. Once a rank 2 Magus entered the board, it would definitely be enormous news.

A rank 2 Magus would be counted as a big shot that oversaw an area on the south coast. There was not any news about such a person being wanted within the past few hundred years.

The rank 2 Magi on the wanted list had always been those few and there wasn't any news that they made a blunder and were caught.

Moreover, in this few short months, there was unexpectedly two rank 2 Magi on the board, instantly attracting the gazes of numerous Magi.

That was right! The person that was positioned in front of Leylin was a rank 2 Magus!

Leylin squeezed to the front row to read up on that Magus.

"Alistair Faron, rank 2 Magus. Title: Solitary Wolf. Crimes: During an exploration, he had killed the tree protector Aleken from the same faction, resulting in three army squads of the Light Magi Alliance to be annihilated, and vast resources from the Eternal River Plains' secret plane to be stolen! Risk level: Extremely high! If any Magus has any news regarding his locations and report it to a member of a nearby Light Magi Alliance, they will immediately be rewarded with a million magic stones as their reward! Killing the target will enable them to earn one billion magic stones or resources and rewards of equivalent value!"

In the image on the wall, Alistair had a mix of gold and white hair and was a youth which was smiling candidly. His eyes expressed the intelligence that he had accumulated from the passing of time. He had an extremely peculiar personal charm and a scholarly temperament.

After becoming an official Magus, Magi were able to undergo local surgery to change their appearance. Rank 2 Magi were able to undergo more extensive flesh and body alterations.

Since Alistair could kill two Level 2 Magi, he definitely would be at least at the rank 2 Magi's level. After all, he definitely would not be young since not everyone could be as perverted as Leylin, who could succeed in breaking through to being a rank 2 Magus level before he was forty.

As a matter of fact, when he broke through to the rank 2 Magus level, the entire Magi realm of the south had viewed him as an unprecedented genius.

According to what the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had said, they were extremely regretful of their initial actions.

"However, there were three Level 2 Magi. They seemed to be the guards of the Magi of the light Magi's alliance at the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. It looks like something major has happened there again!"

Leylin rubbed his chin as he was extremely interested in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane.

It was vast and had everlasting resources. It wasn't something that ordinary ancient Magi organisations could establish.

According to Leylin's hypothesis, those who built it should be an alliance with a few Morning Star Magi.

Moreover, the secrets in the secret plane still had a lot of areas to be investigated.

It was to the point that it was unknown which Magi organisation had created this secret plane. Currently, the dark and light Magi were also unable to give an accurate answer.

"From the circumstances that made rank 2 Magi to fall out with one another and even kill each other, including the high rewards that were to be given out by the Light Magi Alliance, there should be a remarkable incident that happened in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane…"

Leylin lips curled up into an interest filled smile. He wore his cap as he reentered the crowd.

After a short moment and spending sufficient magic stones. Leylin received a report that he had wanted.

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Information Gathering

"An important treasure? What is it?"

Leylin had now changed his appearance to that of a middle-aged man. As he stared hard at the human figure made entirely out of black fog, discontent appeared on his face.

"We don't know either, but it's definitely extremely valuable and has to be very tempting for rank 2 Magi. Upon seeing that treasure, Alistair betrayed the Light Magi Alliance without any qualms and plotted against Alex and Juna, and then snatched it away."

The voice of the person in the black fog was very hoarse and its body seemed to be on the verge of disappearing at any moment.

"Alright. One last question—Where is he now?" Leylin heaved a long sigh and asked.

"I'm not sure. Somebody seemed to have found traces of him in Nightless City. We made a conjecture of where he's going, and he's probably fleeing towards the Endless Ocean…"

Upon hearing this answer, Leylin shook his head.

The Endless Ocean was on the east side of Nightless City, and was in the complete opposite direction from the Brambles Iron Door. Even if he were to chase after him right now, he would not make it in time.

Also, to dispatch a large number of people for a piece of news that he was still unsure whether it was genuine was simply not worth it!

There were definitely a lot of Magi after Alistair. There were even rumours of a rank 3 Magus around, and Leylin was not going to participate.

He himself was a significant fugitive as well!

"Do you have any more questions?" The figure in the fog asked.

"No!" Leylin got up to leave this room.

Clang!* The large door rumbled as it closed shut, and the room sunk into darkness while the figure in the fog gradually dissipated..

"Dear customer, you have asked a total of two 4 A level and 3 B level questions. The total cost comes to…"

After Leylin walked out, a woman dressed in a revealing manner emerged, swinging her enchanting hips. She looked like the boss of a pub.

A pair of ample breasts were almost pressed onto Leylin's chest.

"Alright, I understand!" Leylin seemed to be provoking her as he smiled, and a small black pouch with gold edges made a long arc in the air and accurately fell between the female boss' ample breasts, causing her to pout playfully.

After rejecting her intentions and attempts to make him stay, Leylin quickly left.

Hualala!* The bricks on both sides of the door shifted, revealing a secluded and dirty pathway. A distance away the sounds of Magi clamouring could be heard.

Leylin turned back, only to find that the door had already vanished without a trace.

There was only a regular wall there, and the place where he had first entered was completely different from where he was now.

These Magi organisations that sold information as a living usually had a perfect mastery over methods in concealing themselves. Leylin could guarantee that their entrance at the Brambles Iron Door was definitely one of many others, and it was impossible to find out where their headquarters were from these entrances.

Even this female boss was not easily dealt with! Leylin rubbed his fingers and left with a smile about his face.

After Leylin left, in the place where the trade had taken place, the female boss' face changed and she collapsed onto a sofa, revealing her beautiful curves.

At the same time, the immense spiritual force that did not lose out to a peak rank 1 Magus was gradually exhibited.

This female boss was actually a peak rank 1 Magus! Even in the entire south coast, such strength could be enough to awe or intimidate anyone!

Now, however, cold sweat rolled down her face.

"How terrifying! This spiritual force…" The female boss patted her chest, fear still lingering in her heart, "He's definitely a powerful rank 2 existence! Why is he here?"

She could sense Leylin's probing at the beginning, and in actuality if not for Leylin holding back at the end, she would definitely be in a worse state.

The alluring female boss lay on her sofa for a while longer, thoughts rapidly running through her mind. All of a sudden, her expression changed.

"Could it be that he's here because he received that information as well?"

Immediately, she paled and murmured in a low voice, "It's getting harder and harder to do business here. This is not good! I need to leave as soon as possible! These kind of things happens every two or three days. I can't take it any longer!"

……

Leylin, who was elsewhere, was also recalling the whole matter.

Strictly speaking, this matter did have a connection to him.

After he had destroyed one of the gates into the secret plane, some mechanism seemed to have been triggered and resulted in the mysterious changes in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane.

A huge ruin had appeared at the heart of the secret plane.

Overjoyed at the unexpected good fortune, the dark and light Magi broke out in battle and, after much difficulty, settled on an agreement and developed this place.

The light and dark Magi had put in a lot of effort in their exploration!

These were the remnants left behind by the Magus who had created the secret plane! If there was a possibility of gaining some inheritance, then who wouldn't jump at the chance?

The light and dark Magi immediately dispatched their elites and teams that were headed by at least rank 2 Magi entered and explored the ruins.

In this exploration, Alistair, Alex and Juna's three teams worked together and overcame a few difficulties. It seemed like they had obtained some incredible item.

This treasure seemed to be an amazing item effective for rank 2 Magi. Alistair had chosen to betray his teammates for this item, and after dealing with Alex and Juna on the sly, he had swept up the treasure and fled!

Upon receiving this news, dark Magi immediately attacked, and this had serious repercussions on the light Magi's end. Not only had two rank 2 Magi died, even the corps that were guarding the area outside the ruins were attacked. At least three corps had been systematically annihilated.

Ever since that matter, the dark and light Magi in the south coast were in a tense situation.

Though the light Magi had had the upper hand previously, it was not as if the dark Magi were completely powerless. The difference in their might was not very big.

Now, in the span of a few months, including Alistair, the Light Magi Alliance had lost a total of four rank 2 Magi!

This definitely had an effect on the ratio of the power between the two factions. Though there were no losses in terms of their rank 3 Magi, which were the strongest they had, the dark Magi were starting to become restless.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Leylin. He was mostly attracted by that mysterious treasure.

"What could it be that would cause a rank 2 Magus to betray his faction and even plot against his companions?"

Traces of red appeared in Leylin's eyes, and there seemed to be a voice inside shouting, "Snatch! Snatch it! Snatch the treasure!"

A desire that he could feel deep inside his bones invaded Leylin's senses.

"Hm? That's weird! When did I become so irrational?" Leylin's expression changed and he grimly looked at the crystal at his wrist.

The crystal at his wrist was currently emitting a circle of red rays, looking about to drip fresh blood.

"The situation is getting worse!" An imposing look flashed by his eyes, and he opened a flask and drank from it.

Gulp! Gulp!*

Large amounts of liquid that had a medicinal taste to it travelled down his throat, and Leylin's expression seemed to calm down.

As time passed, the rays from the crystal dimmed, and it turned into a transparent, colourless crystal.

"It's getting increasingly serious…"

Leylin kept the crystal and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

After drinking the potion he had brewed, Leylin could feel his spirit becoming tranquil, the impulse from before vanishing.

"The effects of being a warlock are really troublesome to deal with!"

Leylin furrowed his brows. After his heart had been modified such that he had completely fused with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, Leylin could feel that the intense emotions due to the bloodline, which he had suppressed with this potion of tranquility, were now beginning to stir restlessly.

After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, this situation had become increasingly serious.

Leylin now had no choice but to set up an early warning spell design on his wrist. This colourless crystal was a ward that Leylin had set up. The moment bloodline-induced emotions began to affect his rationality; the crystal would immediately emit blood-red rays.

The graver this issue was, the more piercing the red rays on the surface of the crystal would be.

Leylin now had no choice but to prepare potions of tranquility and keep it at hand, occasionally drinking some to prevent the emotions from affecting his mind.

After all, for him to be able to come so far, the A.I. Chip was an important factor, the other being a clear mind.

If he lost this factor, no matter how powerful he became, it would simply be a tragedy.

"These emotional issues of warlocks were definitely complications in ancient times. Though the great Magus Serholm had come up with this potion of tranquility, it can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. I need to find a way that can permanently deal with it."

Leylin looked grim.

"As for that Alistair, it's not my place to think about that. Also, he's so much further away…"

After regaining a clear mind, Leylin touched his chin.

"Of course, If he's so blind as to offend me, then that's a different matter altogether."

After thinking this through, Leylin wore his hood once more and left this deserted alley.

……

A few hours later, Leylin emerged from a large building that had been built using gold and silver, a helpless look on his face.

Behind him, a Magus that seemed to be the owner was watching him leave, an apologetic expression on his face.

This was one of the top three commerce centres in the Brambles Iron Door, and Leylin had just purchased some items.

It was a pity that besides replenishing a few frequently used materials, there was no mention of the long distance detection spell that Leylin had been hoping to obtain.

As for a method to solve the warped emotions from his Warlock bloodline? Leylin didn't even bother asking about it.

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Trading Event

The inheritance of the Warlocks had been lost from the south coast for many years, so Leylin did not think that he would be so lucky as to be able to find a remedy so easily.

In addition, he did not want to reveal his trump card!

"I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to rely on the Great Magus Serholm!"

Leylin scratched his chin, walking as he pondered over this.

As a rank 4 Warlock at the Morning Star level, the Great Magus Serholm must have had certain methods to withstand the emotional side effects that ailed them.

The potion of tranquility from before was evidence of that!

Leylin planned to find some vestiges or ruins that had been left behind by him, and hopefully discover something.

Leylin, who had already made up his mind, proceeded to the outer layer of the Brambles Iron Door.

He urgently needed some information or news regarding the Great Magus Serholm. From this, he would be able to find some methods to relieve himself of the side effects of his bloodline.

"Is our guest here planning to leave already?"

Just as Leylin was planning on leaving the Brambles Iron Door, he was suddenly stopped by a strange person who was wearing a hood.

"Who are you? I don't know you!" Leylin, whose appearance was now that of a middle-aged man with a dangerous aura emanating from him.

The person he was facing could definitely sense this. He was currently like prey that had been marked by an ancient creature, and his two legs began to tremble involuntarily.

"Wait! Wait! My lord, I have no evil intentions!" The strange person began to wave his arms. To prove his identity, he even produced a metal disk and showed it to Leylin.

On the surface of the black disk, a symbol of the Iron Crown had been deeply engraved. There was no ornamentation on it, and the style in which it had been carved was with smooth, firm lines.

"Someone from the Iron Crown?" Leylin's tone became less aggressive, and his aura also calmed down. He sized up the strange man, who was also an official Magus, "What do you want from me?"

"My lord! We from Iron Crown are extremely respectful and humble towards the many powerful lord Magi. To be honest, the moment you entered the market, we had already noticed you…"

The strange person bowed towards Leylin, "Please come with me!"

Leylin scratched his chin and followed behind him. From this person's actions, Leylin could assume that the Iron Crown had already discovered his true strength. Then again, as the ruler of this area, a rank 2 Magus like him could easily disrupt everyday life here if he was not monitored. Iron Crown must have developed some sort of probing methods.

"How did you find me?"

Leylin, who was behind the strange person, couldn't help but ask this question.

After hearing this question, the hooded person in front proudly patted the pouch on his waist. *Xiu!* A black shadow instantly crawled up to his shoulder.

This was a high-energy being that was similar to a mole, with eyes that brightly shone like shining sapphires. As it looked at Leylin's body, it couldn't help but shiver, even wedging its tail in between its legs.

"Pardon me!" The hooded man patted the head of the mole-like being to comfort it. "This is my lifelong magical companion, a Krone Mouse. Krone Mice have a heightened awareness for powerful spirits. Hence, I was able to take charge and become the leader of the defence team of the Iron Crown."

Leylin glanced at the mole on this leader's shoulder, a look of understanding in his eyes, "To be able to make this creature that has already gone extinct your pet, it seems like you have pretty good luck!"

A Magus' magical pet or companion wasn't just some mount. They needed to sign a strict spirit contract, and could only have one magical pet or companion in his or her entire lifetime.

Not only did many top grade magical pets have amazing battle power, they could also enhance a Magus' magic or body. It was said that some legendary magical pets were able to help Magi break through bottlenecks.

Leylin had been looking for a magical pet that was completely compatible with him, but alas, such a thing was difficult to find. One could only depend on their luck, and as a result, Leylin still had yet to make a decision on his pet.

The Krone Mouse completely lacked the ability to fight, and did not have any special abilities that could increase the might of one's magic or his resistance to spells. Its meagre ability to sense things was basically useless. This Magus had completely abandoned all these possibilities in favour of obtaining a powerful ability in detection, and it was hard to determine whether or not he had made the wrong choice.

Leylin followed the defense team leader into a private room that was opened up by other Magi.

It was extremely quiet, and there were even a few Magi. It seemed that the entrance was tightly guarded, and was only open to members.

"Alright. Can you tell me why you brought me here now? I'll give you five minutes!"

Leylin was becoming a little annoyed. The leader, who had realised this, quickly launched into the main topic.

"If I'm not wrong, you must already have stepped into the realm of rank 2, right?"

The team leader seemed to be probing as he asked. Upon seeing Leylin admitting to this by staying silent, he straightened even more in his excitement and bowed once again.

In the south coast, rank 2 Magi were the absolute highest level, and were the leaders of large-scaled academies or the wielders of power in families! No matter where they went, they would enjoy treatment that was reserved for honoured guests.

"Oh revered Lord rank 2 Magus! We of the Iron Crown have recently been holding a small trading gathering between highly ranked Magi. Seeing that you did not look very satisfied, I was hoping you would be able to obtain what you wanted there…"

The leader began to explain, and a look of understanding shone in Leylin's eyes.

In general, though the resources on the south coast were quite plentiful, this was only so for acolytes and regular Magi. The moment one was promoted to become a peak rank 1 Magus or even a rank 2 Magus like Leylin had been, it would be difficult to find a market that could meet their needs.

Hence, trade meetings that were held by individuals, in which only Magi of a certain level were invited, became mainstream.

Many Magi resumed their habits of using material items to make trades after being promoted to a higher ranking, exchanging items for what they needed with Magi at the same level of strength as themselves.

Before, Leylin lacked power, and was not qualified to participate. Now, however, he had been especially sought out and invited.

"Is this a trading event organized by the Iron Crown? When is it? Where will it be?" Leylin questioned. He already had plans to take a look there. Meeting with other Magi at the same level of strength as him would be extremely helpful to him, and in this sort of setting, the appearance of amazing items was almost certain.

"We are extremely honoured to have you participate!" Seeing that Leylin had agreed, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

With both hands, he then passed a black card to Leylin.

"The trading event will be held three days later, and the address is on the card. When the time comes, you'll just need to bring the card and reach the place on time. In addition, the sages of the Iron Crown would like to have a long talk with all who are at least rank 2 Magi before the trade meeting. You'll definitely not be disappointed."

This leader provided more news, which seemed to be the most important part of this invitation.

"A meeting with them?" Leylin was surprised.

The sages of the Iron Crown were naturally not those who started the organisation, but they had the strength of at least peak rank 1 or even rank 2 Magi. Without this much strength, the Iron Crown would long since have been destroyed countless times over by Magi who harboured bad intentions towards them.

"May I know what it is about?"

Leylin fiddled with the black card in his hands. It was made out of some crystal and was cool to the touch. There were even rings engraved onto it that connected to form an intricate pattern that formed a large metal sword.

"I can't really reveal the details, but I can tell you that it has to do with the incident at the Eternal River Plains' secret plane."

The leader of the defense team smiled, but Leylin began to get nervous.

"The incident at the Eternal River Plain's secret plane? Was my identity revealed?"

Beneath his clothes, black scales protruded through Leylin's skin. However, he quickly reacted, and asked without changing his expression, "Are you talking about Alistair?"

"Yes! He's the lord who betrayed the Light Magi Alliance!" At the mention of Alistair, this leader's tone was still one of reverence towards a rank 2 Magus, causing Leylin to nod inwardly.

Of course, this had to do with his neutral stance. If this leader was a light Magus, he would not call him a lord, or else he would be punished by the enforcement team!

"Interesting! Very interesting!"

After coming out of the private room, Leylin touched his chin, and a smile appeared on his lips. He quickly disappeared into the throngs of people.

After finishing up this business, this defence leader politely encouraged Leylin to partake in the services provided here, which he did. It must be said that these places that were catered to service highly ranked Magi were truly different, whether it be in terms of food, liquor, women, or anything else. Whatever Leylin could think of, they could provide, and the quality was also first rate.

For large organisations like this, any rank 2 Magus was worth roping in. In addition, Leylin was extremely unfamiliar to them, which had piqued their curiosity.

The Iron Crown obviously did not dare look into his background, though some sorts of observations and investigations were definitely underway.

However, Leylin paid this no mind. This middle-aged man that he currently looked like was completely different, and there was absolutely no information regarding him. By the time the Iron Crown might have found anything out or linked him to anything, he would probably have been long gone.

"But Alistair?"

Leylin suddenly felt as if this was fate. He had already been prepared to let this man go, but somehow, he was nearby Leylin again.

"He's thought to have fled towards the Endless Ocean, but in actuality, he escaped towards the west. He's a little shrewd, but that's it…"

The diversion made by a rank 2 Magus was not so easily seen through. From Leylin's guesses, there was probably a rank 3 Magus involved!

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Entry

After having lived in the south coast for so many years, Leylin now had a basic knowledge of the situation there.

Geographically speaking, though the south coast was said to be a coast, it was a huge continent that covered mountain ranges, marshes, plains, snowy areas, and all sorts of topography. There were even a few concealed, savage ruins that even official Magi did not dare explore.

The largest population on this continent consisted of the native people. There were around 100 million of these regular human, and were divided into hundreds of dukedoms in various sizes.

Behind these dukedoms were the dark and light Magi controlling them.

The nobility and lords who were in power were basically the descendants of many official Magi!

Every once in a while, large Magi organisations in the south coast would test the spirit and talent of these noble families and recruit them to become acolytes. They would provide them with knowledge for them to continue governing for generations.

Though these academies would also bring in peasant acolytes, the percentage was very low. Only those of exceptional talent would be considered, and most of the times, their lives could not be guaranteed.

Some light Magi academies would not even recruit peasant acolytes, only the dark Magi were willing to do so!

Even with such a large population, the number of peasants with spiritual talent was simply too small.

Out of over ten thousand plebeians, only one would be lucky enough to be born with talent to become an acolyte and a Magus.

Even amongst them, their talent was nothing exceptional. If one talked about third or fourth-grade aptitudes, one really needed quite some luck.

Hence, a lot of academies and schools disappeared not due to enemy invasions, but from not being able to find a successor. This resulted in the gradual diminution of their power and their eventual demise.

The dark and light Magi both divided their powers well and forbid the recruitment of acolytes at certain boundaries. Due to their conflicting ideas about management, the population that was under dark Magi jurisdiction and their prosperity could not compare to the light Magi.

Hence, the method of recruiting acolytes from outside their region became another way for dark Magi organisations to gain more acolytes.

In Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, this was also the case. They eliminated so many acolytes every year and were not able to steal people from the light Magi domain. This sometimes resulted in a lack of new students to recruit, and they had no choice but to try getting students from the Chernobyl Islands.

Though there were so many methods that could be employed, there were still few official Magi in the south coast.

In addition to this, the difficulty of the process of advancing to a new rank made this problem even worse.

Those acolytes with grade one or two aptitude would basically be unable to advance. Their limit would be becoming a level 3 acolyte.

Advancement to an official Magus was even more difficult, and the method to being promoted was controlled. Acolytes who were peasants had not even heard of a high-level meditation technique, and even if they were lucky enough to advance, they would be mediocre at best.

Rank 2 Magi were even more rare. In the entire south coast, there were only less than a hundred!

For this reason, the Light Magi Alliance's might was diminished after the loss of four rank 2 Magi, and caused the dark Magi to be stirred up.

If it was said that a rank 2 Magus was the highest level that could lord over rank 1, then rank 3 Magi were basically the real owners of the entire south coast!

Based on what Leylin knew, rank 4 Morning Star Magi had virtually vanished, and rank 3 Magi were truly the ones in control.

This was so much so that of all the rank 3 Magi who had had notable achievements, there were less than ten, and every one of them were leaders at the level of Magi from the Lighthouse of the Night.

From Kemoyin's Pupil and descriptions from the Book of Giant Serpent, after a Magus entered rank 3, one would awaken a lot of mysterious abilities. The difference between rank 3 and rank 2 was like that between heaven and earth.

If he was pursued by a rank 3 Magus, no matter what preparations Alistair had made, then all of them would come to naught.

"That Alistair is probably being pursued by a rank 3 Magus, and has been fleeing in this direction!"

Leylin felt like he had deduced the truth.

"That scamming inn actually dared to fool me with false news! If I ever see them again…"

When comparing the inn and Iron Crown, Leylin was naturally more inclined to believe that local tyrant.

In addition, he was quite interested in that exchange meeting.

"An exchange meeting held by the Iron Crown? I think I really should go take a look."

Leylin pondered, and turned in a corner.

Next, a silver-haired old man walked out, quickly vanishing into the market.

……

Three days later.

Not far away from the Brambles Iron Door., at an overhanging cliff.

The high black cliff seemed to cross the horizon. In the air, there was a little platform that was formed from a large protruding rock. On its surface was some soil, and weeds as well as vines and flowers that nobody knew the names of were growing.

Whoo whoo!*

A black ray of light shot out from a distance away, arriving on the platform.

Rumble!* A pit appeared in the soil, revealing a middle-aged, burly Magus.

"Based on the directions provided by the A.I. Chip, this should be the place!"

The burly man took out a black card and came beside the rock stratum. The simple methods used by regular Magi to conceal things were easily seen through, and the burly man laughed, sending out spiritual force waves towards a layer of rock wall.

Bo! Bo!*

The rock walls were separated like waves, revealing two Magi in uniform, a metallic insignia on their chests.

At the sight of the man, they were extremely polite, "So it's Lord Black Snake! We are the Black Iron Guards of the Iron Crown, and we've been here waiting for you!"

Upon seeing him tossing out a card, these two were even more respectful as they bowed, "Please come with us!"

They then entered a hallucinatory spell formation, and the burly man expressionlessly followed them.

Within the spell formation was a flight of stairs, and after walking hundreds of metres, the Magi respectfully guided the burly man into a luxuriously decorated room.

After sending away the servants, the burly man surveyed the area.

In front of him was a huge crystal glass, through which one could see a large dome of spectator's seats and raised platforms.

There were a few Magi already seated, and the energy waves on their bodies were concealed well. However, under the eyes of this burly man, nothing could be hidden. This might was that of a peak rank 1 Magus, on the verge of breaking through!

Recalling the many passageways and large number of Magi, the burly man could not help but sigh, "Iron Crown has really worked hard to open up a passageway for us rank 2 Magi!"

This burly man was naturally Leylin's disguise.

After receiving the invitation, Leylin lost his desire to look around Brambles Iron Door., and found a random cave. He spent the day training in his high-grade meditation technique, and quietly waited for the time of the exchange meeting to arrive.

For Magi, meditation was something that had to be done everyday, and this was even more so for Leylin.

Kemoyin's Pupil was a meditation technique that was extremely compatible with him. Everytime he meditated, he could feel his power increasing bit by bit, and this speed was basically astonishing!

Based on his estimations, his current speed was several times faster than those rank 2 Magi that also had high-grade meditation techniques.

The reason had already been analysed by the A.I. Chip, and it had to do with his bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!

After his heart had been remodelled, Leylin thoroughly fused with this bloodline. The mysterious strength held within was beginning to be activated by Kemoyin's Pupil, thus increasing his strength.

Each high-grade meditation technique had a different nature. As a Magus trained more, this could even increase a Magus in a certain area, raising one's elemental resistance or even creating a mysterious ability!

In Leylin's eyes, a high-grade meditation technique like Kemoyin's Pupil allowed one to modify one's body and strengthen it through training. A Magus' body would draw closer to that of the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent.

As for that incomplete Sacred Flame, a Magus would train and produce a special spiritual force. It did not have any uses other than to extend into the extensive consciousness of the continent, and from the huge amount of historical information, pick out useful fragments and get some premonition.

However, this ability had a large amount of uncertainty, and were sometimes ineffective. The technique was also incomplete, which Leylin found to be a pity.

Behind the crystal glass covering, there was a comfortable white sofa, as well as a communication device that was covered in runes beside it.

Leylin sat without a word, dull silver spiritual force instantly connecting with the communication device, and instantly understanding the way to use it.

This was a communication device, which was also used to send the quoted price to Magi. Magi could manipulate their spiritual force to proceed with all sorts of exchanges, and avoid being recognised by people they knew.

The south coast was not that big, and there were plenty of rank 2 Magi who held resentment against each other. If they were to flare up and fight, then Iron Crown would definitely be in a difficult position.

Hence, they did not dare hold this exchange meeting at the headquarters, but rather set up this place.

For rank 2 Magi, Iron Crown was even more eager to please. On the little table beside the sofa, all sorts of snacks and fruits were placed. Some of them even had the ability to increase spiritual force and the effects of meditation, and their value was something that would even cause regular official Magi to become green with envy All these items were silently displayed here, letting Leylin pick as he pleased.

"Metal-Leafed Fruit!" Leylin easily picked out an apple that was emitting a metallic lustre, and bit into it.

The Metal-Leafed Fruit was truly the specialty from the secret plane that the Iron Crown controlled. It had the ability to condense spiritual power and increase the effects of meditation, and was highly sought by some official Magi. However, Leylin almost could not feel any effects.

After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, most of these resources that were useful to rank 1 Magi had lost their effectiveness. For items like this, the Iron Crown's special product, it was only a means for him to quench his thirst.

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First Glimmer of Dawn

Ding ling ling!*

Accompanied by ringing sounds, an old Magus suddenly appeared on the high platform.

His golden attire looked extremely formal. Beside him were two female servants, who were more attractive than him, holding silver plates. They displayed something that looked like a root and showed it to the Magi below. Surrounding them were multiple projections of enlarged images.

"The Devil's Antenna is an object retrieved from the body of a beast that had the strength of an official Magus. It has been well preserved within a liquid, and its worth is from two hundred to five hundred thousand magic crystals. It's a pity that it's of no use to me anymore…"

Leylin merely scanned the item that appeared on the platform, and immediately lost interest.

"Before the trade meeting begins, is there a need for this auction? How pointless…"

Though Leylin found it boring, the item on the platform seemed to be extremely attractive to the rank 1 Magi below. The shouts of people haggling could be heard, and the auction was extremely lively.

The items on auction by Iron Crown could be said to be of good quality and quite inexpensive, making them highly sought after by the rank 1 Magi.

Magic artifacts, high-level slaves, precious materials, knowledge, and even potions that could increase one's spiritual force were displayed one after the next, allowing the Magi below to compete with them and choose.

These were obviously not attractive to the rank 2 Magi. Neither Leylin nor the other rank 2 Magi in the VIP rooms shouted out a price.

Leylin simply closed his eyes and rested, using the A.I. Chip to simulate the spell models of rank 2 spells.

Though the spell models of the three rank 2 spells in the Book of Giant Serpents were already in his head, he had realised the other uses of the simulation methods of the A.I. Chip while mending the teleportation spell formation.

Through the A.I. Chip's simulations, he could actually accelerate his own understanding of the activation and firing of these spells, allowing the once robotic movements to be more agile.

This was a function that the A.I. Chip did not have before and was something that had been created after his advancement.

With this function, Leylin's understanding and manipulation of rank 2 spells could almost surpass that of rank 2 Magi who had been accumulating knowledge over many years.

"However, the number of rank 2 spell models that I have is just too small…"

Leylin practised Scorching Touch once more and furrowed his eyebrows.

A rank 2 Magus would usually be backed by a powerful organisation that would have no lack of spell models as they would have been accumulated over time.

However, Leylin was different since he was now going solo. Tthe difficulty of this path was exacerbated by the strict regulations for rank 1 Magi in the south coast which were even worse for rank 2 Magi.

Even when he was in Four Seasons Garden, Leylin didn't even have the qualifications to come into contact with rank 2 spell models.

From killing Cabourn and Desmund, he had gained some experience and realisations regarding the use of rank 2 spells. However, what he lacked was the most important thing— spell models! Leylin only had these experiences as a reference.

"It's not quite possible to buy this sort of thing using magic crystals. Perhaps if I lie low for a period of time, I can try to use other methods…"

As the auction went on, some items that could attract rank 2 Magi began to appear, and some prices were shouted from several VIP rooms.

At this moment, the announcer's voice from below attracted Leylin's attention, "Middle-grade magic artifact— Sabre of the Dawn! This is a sabre found in an ancient ruin, and it is said that its previous owner was a mighty Branded Swordsman. Starting price: five million crystals, or any precious materials of the same value!"

Leylin opened his eyes, and through the transparent glass screen, focused on the platform below.

At this moment, there was a dull-gold metal long sword put on display by the servants behind the announcer.

This long sword was around 1.5 m long and two fingers wide. For Branded Swordsmen, such as Number 2 and Number 3 who used swords that were the size of regular humans, this was merely pocket-sized.

However, a hint of glee appeared on Leylin's face. On the surface of the long sword of the Rays of Dawn, there were some strange runes which were quite similar to the runes he had branded onto the bodies of Number 2 and Number 3.

"Looks like it's the real deal!"

He nodded, and a slither of spiritual force quoted a price through the communication device, "Five million magic crystals!"

A middle-grade magic artifact naturally was not so valuable, but this long sword was evidently worthy enough to do research on, which garnered the interest of the rank 2 Magi.

Quickly enough, a price was quoted from a VIP room not far from Leylin, "5.5 million!'

Leylin's face darkened and he looked towards that VIP room. It was a pity that he could see naught but a blurry shadow.

The glass in the VIP rooms had naturally been processed. Guests could see outside through the glass, but people on the outside could not see anything inside the room.

"Six million!" Leylin immediately increased the price. Other than the magic crystals he possessed, he also had materials he had obtained from the secret plane and the wealth of two rank 2 Magi. This would obviously cause rank 2 Magi to be jealous, and it was natural that he could be so generous.

As if able to sense Leylin's resolution and immense wealth, the rank 2 Magi nearby stopped raising the price and this long sword became Leylin's.

"The guest at VIP room 7, please take note! Our staff is bringing your auction item to do the exchange. Please prepare magic crystals or items that are of similar value…"

News travelled through the communication device, and after just five minutes, an expressionless man brought the servant who had been holding the silver plate to Leylin's room.

"May I know where this long sword was created?" After the delivery, Leylin's eyes flashed as he questioned them.

"My apologies! This belongs to the client and it is our duty to keep this a secret for him!"

Though they were speaking to a rank 2 Magus, the staff still rejected Leylin's demands. This exhibited their manners and professionalism.

"Very well!" Leylin nodded and waved for these two people to take their leave.

Next, he picked up the long sword on the table, and gold rays shined in Leylin's hand.

A regular middle-grade magic artifact could no longer satisfy the needs of a rank 2 Magus. What was more useful was a high-grade magic artifact or even a magic device!

However, Leylin had no desire to use it. He was merely interested in the runes on this long sword.

"A.I. Chip! Scan and record the runes, and then compare it with the runes of the Branded Swordsmen!" Leylin thought in his mind.

[Beep! Recorded runes, now comparing with the runes of the Branded Swordsmen…]

The A.I. Chip loyally intoned. Right after, Leylin received the results, [Similarity to fire elemental Branded Swordsmen runes recorded by Host body is 67.1%. Similarity to foundation metallic runes: 34.2%. Similarity to basic sharpness: 13.9%. Estimated to be the runes of the weapons of the Branded Swordsmen! Estimated time required to perfect and alter: 294 hours!]

"Like I thought!"

Glee appeared on Leylin's face. The information he had on the Branded Swordsmen was extremely limited. Even with the A.I. Chip perfecting and supplementing information, he was still only able to gain the fire elemental runic spell formation suitable for males.

As for the runes for other elements and the weapons suitable for Branded Swordsmen, he had no clue at all.

Now, with the appearance of this long sword of the Rays of Dawn, Leylin could finally see some hope.

He also had another thought. The Fallen Star Pendant, which was a magic artifact that had accompanied him all these years, was beginning to be unable to meet his needs. He had hence sent it back to his family.

He now lacked an offensive-type magic artifact.

Perhaps, he could carve these branded runes on a magic artifact by imitating those on the long sword and create a weapon that was meant for him!

Leylin touched his chin and pondered over the feasibility of this plan.

While Leylin scanned and analysed the sword in his hands, a few Magi were quietly discussing in the VIP room that had been competing with him for this magic artifact.

"Torp, why aren't you quoting another price? It's just six million magic crystals. That's nothing to you, right?"

A female in purple-gold Magus robes spoke to a red-bearded old man, a bewitching aura surrounding her.

"The magic crystals aren't much, and I don't actually want that magic artifact that much. I just want to analyse the runes on it, and I'm sure this kind of special magic artifact has very strict requirements for users. I've even come to suspect that those who aren't Branded Swordsmen will be unable to use this long sword… The ancient Branded Swordsmen have already vanished from the south coast for thousands of years. It's not worth it to spoil our plans for this item."

The red-bearded Torp touched his beard.

"En! You are truly a Master Blacksmith! To be able to glean this much information from just a look…" The woman seemed to be in awe and then continued on worriedly, "I keep having this feeling that the plan is much too hurried. Will he really come…"

"Don't worry! He'll definitely be here!"

The red-bearded Torp spoke with conviction, "We've put out bait this time that is definitely irresistible to him. In order to use that item more effectively, he'll definitely come!"

"That's great!" The woman patted her chest, and then glanced at Leylin's room with some conjectures in mind.

"Say, do you think he's inside? Should I sound him out?"

"Don't do it!" Torp immediately stopped her. "Don't act rashly. If it really is him, would he dare be so bold as to compete with us? Besides, offending an unfamiliar rank 2 Magus would probably be unfavourable to us…"

"Hehe, I'm just joking. You actually took it seriously…"

The woman giggled coquettishly, and her figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the old man who looked to be in a difficult position.

On the platform, the last item on the public auction was sent out. The announcer went on, "The auction has ended, and we will now enter the segment of the exchange meeting. Those who wish to leave may exit through the passages at both sides."

Rumble!* Along with his words, the large doors at two ends of the hall opened loudly.

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Bait

Many rank 1 Magi left the hall on the first floor through the two doors.

Though they did not know much, from the serious atmosphere that emanated through the hall after the announcer's words, they felt as if they were being pushed down by a mountain.

Hua la la!*

The masses dispersed quickly and in an instant, only a few rank 1 Magi were left in their original seats.

On the second floor where the VIP rooms were, not one Magus left.

Boom!* The doors closed, and the solemn atmosphere shot up to the extreme!

"Oh? Is it starting?"

With a smile about his lips, Leylin watched the centre and prepared for a good show.

"Alright! Let's start with me!"

From a VIP room on Leylin's far right, there travelled a very robotic voice that was neither male nor female. It had obviously been heavily processed.

"I have one portion of the potion Sea of the Ocean. I wish to exchange it for the hearts of three Fire Scorpions, or the core of a Lava Tyrant! Is anyone willing to make this trade?"

Along with the words, a projection of the potion was sent over, and could clearly be seen by everyone in the hall.

"I have two Fire Scorpion hearts, and wish to replace the rest with magic crystals. How does six million sound?"

A hoarse old voice sounded.

"No, I only need fire elemental materials! However, I can buy those two hearts from you for whatever price you name…" It was a pity that this offer was rejected by that Magus. Next, these two Magi spoke through the communication device, their conversation now a secret to the Magi outside.

The MC on the platform was already just standing aside, leaving the area for the rank 2 Magi to use.

Leylin waited silently and watched as all kinds of precious items were traded. His expression was calm, like that of a cheetah waiting for its prey to rise up to the bait.

After discussions with Iron Crown and Leylin's own judgement, he could now confirm that this exchange meeting was a setting that Iron Crown or the light Magi faction were using to lure out Alistair.

All that they were putting out were items that Alistair could not resist.

At this moment, an item that made Leylin's eyes twinkle was exhibited in the hall.

"A high-levelled alchemy notebook, recording terrifying information from the abyss. Those who possess too little spiritual power will see illusions while flipping through it. The previous owner has already gone completely crazy and died, so the next buyer has to be careful."

Along with this voice, a book that was black on the outside and had blood-red eyes projected in the middle of the notebook was displayed.

This notebook looked to be extremely torn, and even a few corners were damaged. However, the red eye in the middle was still extremely agile. Though it was just a projection, Leylin felt as if this eye was focusing its attention on himself, causing him to tremble inside.

In addition, Leylin also noticed something interesting on the surface of this black notebook.

Beside the red eye, there were countless veins and black runes. These runes were all twisted together, and actually seemed to resemble little black snakes.

"This…" Silver light flashed at Leylin's palm, and the Book of Giant Serpent that had been kept in his spatial pouch appeared in his hands.

The runes on the surface of the Book of Giant Serpent were extremely similar to that on the notebook.

"The Great Magus Serholm! This is likely to be the notebook left behind by him…" Leylin mumbled to himself, eyes shooting out crimson rays.

At the same time, blood-red rays furiously exploded forth from the crystal on Leylin's wrist.

"89"

[Warning! Warning! Too much adrenaline is being secreted, and there is an 89% chance that this will stimulate the nerves indefinitely, and result in a detrimental effect on the mind!]

The A.I. Chip sent out blue words before Leylin.

"How… How… How troublesome!" Leylin roared lowly, and then loosened a black water flask from his waist and gulped deeply.

The water that had the potion of tranquility mixed inside calmed the impulse that had risen in Leylin.

At this moment, the sounds of people quoting prices out there could be heard again and again. It was evident that this notebook that recorded information about the abyss had garnered the interest of many rank 2 Magi.

After advancing to become a rank 2 Magus, a lot of Magi who did not possess high-grade meditation techniques had lost their direction. Hence, they were extremely enthusiastic about researching information regarding the Ancient Era as well as other geographical locations, hoping to discover methods for them to advance.

The aura of the abyss on this notebook was extremely strong, to the point that Leylin's face paled slightly.

For this reason, this alchemic notebook had received the attention of numerous rank 2 Magi.

"I really like this notebook. What do you want?"

Leylin contacted the Magus selling this notebook through the communication device, speaking in a low voice.

"What do you have for me?"

Evidently, this notebook was extremely popular and the seller was waiting for something good before he would sell it.

"Three standard portions of an ancient spiritual force potion that can be said to be useful in helping a Magus break through. I can even add in 500g of Filthy Magic Dust! Since you have this notebook, you must have done some research on items in the abyss. This Filthy Magic Dust is a precious ingredient that came directly from the abyss!"

Leylin thought for a moment and immediately showed his bottom line.

The Tears of Mary potion was now of little use to him. In addition, after advancing to rank 2, they were now nothing in his eyes.

Also, he was now disguised and this person would not be able to investigate his background. Even if that happened, would anyone dare make things difficult for a rank 2 Magus?

Leylin now had the power to take care of himself on the south coast, and was not afraid of any challenges!

"Hss… Ancient spiritual power potion that's useful in breaking out of a bottleneck? And Filthy Magic Dust from the abyss?"

It was evident that after Leylin quoted this price, the Magus was shocked into silence for a long while.

After a few minutes, Leylin received his reply.

"Show me the potion!"

"Fine!" Leylin pondered for a moment and then produced a test tube filled with the Tears of Mary. Some silver light bundled up a bit of the potion and disappeared into that Magus' room.

"It really is an ancient potion! Alright! Let's proceed with the trade!"

Though the Magus tried his best to suppress it, Leylin could still hear the impatience in his voice.

"Alright! However, I'm not getting the better end of the deal here, so you need to tell me about the origins of this alchemy notebook!"

Leylin, on the other hand, was extremely composed and hoped to gain more clues.

"… Alright, I'll tell you everything I know…"

The voice was quiet for some time and then sent some information over to Leylin's room.

Leylin carefully skimmed through the information and then nodded.

The trade between these two VIP rooms was extremely rapid. Outside were the spiritual forces of many rank 2 Magi, seemingly extremely curious about the trade between these two people.

However, Leylin nor the Magus had any intentions to reveal anything.

A moment later, rank 2 Magi continued with the exchange and one after another, all sorts of precious and rare items were displayed.

"Next up is a treasure from the Eternal River Plains' secret plane!"

A lazy voice sounded from the VIP room right smack in the middle.

In a split second, people seemed to even stop breathing, focusing on the VIP room from which this voice was produced.

The secret plane was now a hot topic and all the precious materials from there were sold at a very high price.

Upon hearing that the rank 2 Magus in the VIP room wanted to make a sale, even the few rank 1 Magi downstairs began to whisper amongst themselves after getting over the shock.

"Is it coming?" Kemoyin's Scales surfaced on Leylin's skin as he stared hard at the room.

From the information he had gathered, Leylin knew that the rank 2 Magus Alistair had only stolen a treasure from the ruins. What he did not know was that this treasure could display its might only when coupled with another item in the ruins. It could even help a rank 2 Magus to advance.

With his fervent desire to break through, Leylin could confirm that even if he knew this was a trap, there was a high chance that Alistair would still come charging in.

What appeared on the screen was a concentrated green liquid that formed a ball, floating in mid-air.

"This is the extract of a Wisdom Tree. Its purity is at 5, the highest level. The ancient Wisdom Trees have the intelligence of an enlightened Magus, and its extract has the effect of raising one's spiritual force. When used with other treasures to break through, it is extremely effective!"

The hall broke out into a large commotion.

Even potions that could help acolytes or rank 1 Magi to increase their spiritual force would result in a mad scramble for them. A precious item like this that could help a rank 2 Magus break through to rank 3 was something that had not ever appeared in the entire south coast.

"Wisdom Tree?"

Understanding flashed in Leylin's eyes.

"Indeed, only the crystallisation of ancient wisdom like that in the legends has enough spiritual force to help a rank 2 Magus break through."

In myths and legends, the Wisdom Tree was a very amiable old being, and many famed ancient Magi had received its teachings and enlightenment, and even its blessings and gifts, which helped them to accomplish much.

In the information in ancient texts, Leylin had seen how Magi had received gifts from the Wisdom Tree. After drinking the extract, the Magi were able to break through.

"For rank 2 Magi, just the effects of the extract are hardly enough. It needs to be stored for a period of time, and for this reason, the item in Alistair's hands is necessary."

Leylin quickly discovered the entire story. "We'll just have to see if Alistair's coming!"

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Lone Wolf

Usually, the extract of the ancient Wisdom Tree would be stored securely in the light Magi headquarters, and there might even be a rank 3 Magus keeping watch over it. It would basically be impossible for Alistair to obtain it.

To lure him out, they had brought the real essence of the ancient tree! That rank 3 Magus had also temporarily left his post.

Magi were not idiots, and Allistair was no exception; before confirming that there was no rank 3 Magus around, he would definitely not appear.

"Alistair's nickname is Lone Wolf. He's definitely used to working alone, and has the strength to overpower groups of people. He must have a certain level of confidence and strength!"

To be able to heavily injure two rank 2 Magi in a single move, he himself must be rather difficult to deal with. Leylin was sure about this.

Even within rank 2 Magi, Alistar was definitely above the middle level and might even have reached the peak, and was just a step away from advancing to rank 3!

Once he verified there was no rank 3 Magus here, there was a large possibility that he would attack and attempt to rob this item!

"When that happens, it's all up to us!"

Leylin surveyed the VIP rooms. How many of the ones inside were dark Magi, and how many were light Magi? How many were like him and harboured ulterior motives?

Evidently, the extract of the Wisdom Tree had attracted the attention of all the rank 2 Magi present.

One after another, spiritual force from multiple Magi, each carrying a strong desire to complete the trade, rushed into the room that Magus was in.

For regular Magi, rank 2 was usually the limit if they did not possess high-grade meditation techniques. When that happened, Magi's innate spells would have already been finalized, and even if they were to switch to a high-grade meditation technique, it would be impossible to advance further.

To forcefully alter a crystallised core consciousness that had already taken shape required a method that did not exist in the south coast. There were rumours that it could be found in another world or in the central continent, but this was not something that Magi in the south coast would ever have the chance to come into contact with.

Hence, the essence of the Wisdom Tree that could provide enlightenment and help a rank 2 Magus raise their spiritual force was their only hope to being promoted to rank 3!

They were willing to pay any price for this!

While rank 2 Magi in the VIP rooms were fiercely communicating by way of their spiritual force, a voice broke the silence.

"100 million magic crystals, and fifty standard portions of the crystallisation of spirits!"

This voice used no spiritual force and was instead shouted from one's throat. The place where this voice originated made Leylin even more surprised—it was actually from a rank 1 Magus on the lower level.

"Interesting! He's just a rank 1 Magus, but he dares to stick his hand into this contest between rank 2 Magi!"

Leylin sized up the Magi who was shouting with interest.

There was a certain set of rules in private trade meetings like this. Rank 2 Magi formed their own circles, and it was impossible for rank 1 Magi to participate.

This rank 1 Magus actually dared to speak so loudly. If he didn't have outstanding might, then it meant there was a huge organisation backing him!

Or could it be… that their target had appeared?

Leylin focused his attention on this rank 1 Magus. He was of average build and donned a black robe. His face wasn't able to be seen, but under the gazes of numerous rank 2 Magi, he was still able to maintain his composure, "This Lord Rank 2 Magus did not specify any materials, and only stated that the person who can give the most valuable materials will obtain it. I wonder, is what I'm offering of the highest value here?"

For lower ranked Magi, having the attention from rank 2 Magi was like being a weak, frail rabbit that had been dropped into a pride of lions. Most Magi would long since have been scared stupid, yet this rank 1 Magus was still very calm.

"How is it? Can you confirm that it's Alistair?"

In the room of the Magus that Leylin had vied with for the Rays of Dawn, the lady asked the old man, Torp.

"I can't tell for sure!" The old man, Torp, who had a red beard, stroked his chin. "His attire is extremely unfamiliar, and I don't feel the aura of anyone I know. Out of all the people who were invited here, we have the least information about him!"

"That means there's a high possibility that it's him!"

The woman extended a forked tongue and licked her lips.

"It's very possible. Prepare to attack!" Torp nodded, and concealed waves from a spirit imprint began to spread, "Target is suspected to have appeared. Prepare to attack!"

"Alright!" "Understood!" "Clear!"

Different voices sounded in the surrounding VIP rooms.

"Alright!" The place became silent, and the voice of the rank 2 Magus who was selling the extract of the Wisdom Tree was heard from the VIP room.

As he spoke, golden yellow rays of light wrapped around the green extract that was filled with vitality, and it slowly floated out of the VIP room.

"Many thanks, my lord!" A glint of excitement appeared in the eyes of the rank 1 Magus who had bid, and he bowed slightly. A bunch of materials and crystals flew from his body.

The items that were to be traded met in mid-air.

Bang!* All of a sudden, fierce red light shone from the green extract. The extremely dazzling red light looked intense, and was very similar to an alert signal!

"It's him! It's Alistair!" "Move!"

As if triggering some switch, the VIP rooms belonging to rank 2 Magi exploded. Each and every one of the Magi who had reached rank 2 brazenly showed off their strength, and immense energy waves were constantly produced, causing an earthquake in the surroundings.

"Binding of Azora!" A streak of golden white light fiercely attacked the area where the rank 1 Magus was.

"Awoo!" At this moment, the Magus that was suspected to be Alistair suddenly ripped off the clothes on his chest, revealing fangs and a black tattoo of a huge wolf still dripping blood.

With his roars, a large black wolf leaped out of the Magus' chest, its large and sharp claws reaching forward!

Bang!* Golden yellow binding lights were smashed by the giant claws and were rendered to bits of gold light that quickly dispersed.

"The totem of the giant wolf! It can't be wrong, this is Alistair!" More Magi charged out of the VIP rooms, streaking towards the rank 1 Magus like sharks that had found their prey.

An immense repressing force field suddenly appeared in the arena of the trade. The wandering rank 1 Magi that had been on the first level quickly retreated, looking pitiful as they left.

Some were even more unfortunate, the powerful spells of Rank 2 Magi having brushed passed them and causing serious injuries.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have come here!"

A black figure had been caught by the intense red rays and could only dodge pitifully, their body charred over.

The figure's hood was pushed back, revealing the face of the black figure. Surprisingly enough, it was the lady boss who Leylin had seen before, specializing in selling information.

"Damn it! Damn it! Are the leaders of the organisation stupid? Everyone here is a rank 2 Magus! They hid this information from the other Magi and wanted me, a puny rank 1 Magus to coordinate with their plans and go into the lion's den? Did they want me dead?"

Bang!* At this moment, the sparks from a huge green fireball brushed past and crashed into buildings behind her. There was even a corroded crater from the aftermath of the attack.

The female Magus was stunned for a second and then ran for the door without looking back. "Damn it, do whatever you want! I don't care anymore!"

Compared to a rank 1 Magus, the spells of rank 2 Magi may not be as flashy, but the strength within were like mountains or seas. Just brushing against an object would cause it to turn to dust.

Ka-cha!*

Numerous black figures that were like ancient savage beasts pounced out from the surroundings and sealed all the entrances from which Alistair could escape.

Amongst these Magi were white-haired elderly, grand and dignified ladies, as well haughty gentlemen in formal attire. The common trait between them was the symbol of the Light Magi Alliance on their chests.

"Alistair, you actually dare betray the glory that represents the light Magi! The Supreme Alliance will punish you!"

The red-bearded Torp yelled, and with a wave of his hand, immense flames and lava were produced from his hands, turning into a firey-red hammer.

"Lava Hammer!"

Lava kept boiling at the surface of the red hammer, emitting energy waves that belonged to rank 2 spells.

"Keke! I only temporarily entered the light Magi alliance. All that I have obtained are items I've gained through trade. How have I betrayed anyone?"

Alistair, who was in black robes, laughed in a strange manner that sounded like the howls of a wolf.

"This is definitely Alistair's voice!"

"Go! What else is there to say to traitors who can't even repent?"

The many rank 2 light Magi roared and colourful spells surrounded Alistair.

The black totem of a large wolf that Alistair had let out quickly turned to dust under the combined attacks of the rank 2 Magi.

Surprisingly, Alistair opened his arms and sneered at the rank 2 Magi that surrounded him.

"I have done no wrong! I need to advance to rank 3, and after that, darkness will eventually descend on this land!"

He chanted words that sounded like a prophecy, and his body began to crack under the continuous onslaught of spells.

Pak!* *Pak!* Black fragments flew in all directions.

"This is… A dark Magus' corporeal body puppet!"

Noticing that something was not right, Torp immediately yelled, "Beware! This is not Alistair's real body, but a temporary flesh puppet!"

A ring of lava surrounded the puppet's body.

Pak pak!*

The black fragments from the flesh puppet melted into liquid in midair, forming large black nets that were similar to spiderwebs, which covered all the nearby rank 2 Magi .

Boom!*

The roof of the exchange hall shattered, and a Magus that looked exactly the same as the flesh puppet from before emerged from the rubble and dust; he howled at the Magus who was selling the extract of the Wisdom Tree.

"Awoo!"

Faced with the wolf howl, that Magus' eyes seemed to glaze over, and he seemed to have been temporarily stupified.

"The Howl of the Lone Wolf!"

"Alistair's unique mental attack!"

The rank 2 Magi who were trapped let out expressions of immense hatred.

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Rank 3

However, it was too late.

With a sly grin on his face, Alistair suddenly transformed.

Muscles bulged, and thick, coarse fur that was characteristic of wolves covered his body. Fangs grew, and there was even fur on his face. Even his ears had turned into those of a wolf!

He threw himself forward, and in that moment, he turned into a werewolf!

Pak!* Sharp wolf claws twisted in the air, and a rank 2 Magus' head was smashed into pieces. Red and white brain juices spilled all over the ground.

The large werewolf did not stop and fished out a vial of green liquid from the corpse. His eyes revealed craziness along with his elation, and he was prepared to jump and leave the area.

"Alistair!"

At this moment, the announcer, who had retreated to the sidelines, suddenly stood forward.

Under white rays of light, the announcer's body underwent a huge change.

His face became elongated, and a white beard dragged across the ground.

An overwhelming, tremendous, and unparalleled spiritual force descended onto the area.

"Giant Tree!" As the old man spoke, a huge plant suddenly grew from the center of the platform. The thick vines on the tree constantly extended, even crushing firm rocks into powder.

The huge tree blocked the entrance at the top, giving the werewolf no routes to escape.

"Awoo…" The werewolf that Alistair had transformed into howled at the old man.

"A rank 3 light Magus!" Leylin, who was in a VIP room, widened his eyes in surprise.

This was the first time that he had seen someone at the most powerful rank amongst the light Magi!

A rank 3 Magus was the absolute peak in the south coast! They were indomitable powers that controlled both the dark and light Magi.

The moment this light Magus attacked, magnificent and splendid life spells ignited within the auction area.

The wooden tables and chairs seemed to grow lives of their own, spores growing on their surfaces and turning into vines and plants.

In that instant, the entire area turned into a green plant heaven, with the giant, ancient tree right in the centre. It reigned like an emperor, standing tall and unyielding.

"When plant-type spells reach this level, it's already touching the surface of being a 'domain'…" Leylin, who had the guidance of the Book of Giant Serpent, had foresight that far surpassed all the rank 2 Magi present. He was able to recognise how remarkable this rank 3 Magus was.

"But… plant-type? This somehow feels very familiar!"

Dark energy particles exploded in Leylin's hands, and the green plants in the VIP room instantly turned to dust.

This rank 3 spell immediately made him think of Reynold, the rank 2 Magus from Four Seasons Garden. Whether in terms of spells or aura, they were much too similar.

"Could it be that this rank 3 Magus is Reynold's mentor or relative?"

With this thought, all of Leylin's plans to participate disappeared.

In the auction hall, there were very few Magi who had chosen to just observe without lifting a finger.

There were two or three Magi in VIP rooms that still maintained their silence, not planning to do anything.

Alistair had dared to utilise a flesh puppet to hinder the light Magi, even risking his life to steal the essence from the Wisdom Tree. Furthermore, he had almost succeeded.

Leylin could not help but be in awe at his decisiveness and patience.

It was a pity that with the suppression by a rank 3 Magus, any plans were all in vain.

No matter how well Alistair was able to deal with rank 2 Magi, he was definitely not a match for a rank 3 Magus.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

Within the boundaries of the green plants, the large black nets of mucus were quickly broken through by the many vines from all sorts of plants. The rank 2 Magi that struggled free quickly assembled behind the rank 3 Magus and secretly dispersed, trapping Alistair, who had turned into a werewolf, in the middle.

The furry werewolf in the middle kept howling at the Magi, a cunning look glinting in his eyes.

"Hm, something's wrong!"

Leylin suddenly found an issue. Alistair, who was being surrounded, was much too calm about his current situation.

"Grab him!" The rank 3 Magus whose beard reached the ground seemed to have noticed something. His brows furrowed, and he quickly commanded the Magi behind him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Several streaks of translucent magic arrows cut through the skies and produced whistling sounds, causing several Magi's heads to explode.

Bang! Bang!* A few light Magi immediately collapsed.

"What's going on?" The light Magi around quickly retreated, all sorts of innate defensive spells flashing and appearing on their bodies.

Unfortunately, this was all useless!

The translucent arrows seemed to possess some terrifying magical power, and even the defences that rank 2 Magi spent all their energy on could not withstand them at all.

"Greta Abyssal Arrow? Fedlan, it's you!"

The rank 3 light Magus roared in surprise, and green rays of light were produced from the foliage. Under the green rays, the green vines turned into large hands that seemed to break through space and appear in front of the translucent arrows, cancelling each other out.

The light Magi that had survived stuck close to the rank 3 light Magus, surveying their surroundings fearfully.

"You dark Magi actually dare betray the contract with the alliance. Aren't you afraid of punishment?"

The rank 3 old light Magus seemed to know his opponent's identity and immediately exclaimed.

"Hehe! Light Magi, the contract with the alliance—they've long since become things of the past! From hereon, darkness shall unify the continent!"

Along with the strange laughter, a dark green figure suddenly appeared within the auction hall.

After the figure appeared, green fluids and light rays began to take over half of the area, competing with the plant domain of the light Magi.

There were immense energy waves emitted from the body of the dark green figure that were on par with a rank 3 Magus.

"Hoduke, my old friend, isn't it obvious? The continuous betrayal and fall of rank 2 Magi implies that there's a large issue with your light Magi's values. Only dark Magi are qualified to rule the south coast!"

The dark green figure seemed to be narrating some sort of insignificant issue, but the faces of the light Magus who heard this immediately underwent a violent change!

With the huge temptation of the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, as well as the continuous damage dealt to the light Magi alliance, the dark Magi finally decided to break this fragile balance and bring war to the rest of the south coast!

"Come out!"

Shua shua!* As the dark Magus spoke, a few figures suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall.

All these people had used black headcovers to cover their face, and there was an overpowering scent of blood on their bodies. On top of that, the energy waves they emitted were not lower than that of a rank 2 Magus!

Upon seeing this, the rank 3 light Magus' expression worsened.

Rumble!* Black mucus reached the heart of the giant tree, and covered by white gas, the tree shriveled up at a rate that could be seen by the naked eye. Eventually, it toppled and revealed a black rock with a hole in it.

"Let's go! Don't forget our agreement!" Fedlan spoke to Alistair, who was still in his werewolf form.

"Awoo!" The werewolf howled at Fedlan a few times as if in reply, jumped into the black hole that was a passageway and then vanished.

"The essence of the Wisdom Tree is extremely precious. They absolutely can't gain possession of it!"

Hoduke, whose beard touched the ground, turned pale. Upon seeing that Alistair had fled, he quickly ordered the Magi behind him, "I'll hold back the dark Magi. You need to get the essence back!"

As a rank 3 Magus, Hoduke was well read and knew that the dark Magi were not very prepared. Whilst they were at a huge disadvantage, they couldn't just let Alistair leave.

If not, it wasn't going to be just the problem of losing a few rank 2 light Magi. This was a matter of imbalance of power between rank 3 Magi!

A portion of the extract of the Wisdom Tree might not be enough to help a rank 2 Magus break through, but with the treasure in Alistair's hands, it was a real possibility.

Hoduke knew very well that the treasure in Alistair's hands would create a heaven-defying effect when paired with the essence of the Wisdom Tree.

"My old friend, we haven't exchanged blows in two hundred years. I wonder what kind of changes your Wailing Earth technique has undergone!"

Hoduke muttered, while the power from vegetation began to vibrate.

"Hehe! Twenty years ago, I finally succeeded in my experiments and refined three thousand pure blooded Quarks, and I blended their innate talents into Wailing Earth. I'm sure the result will not leave you disappointed."

Fedlan laughed again. A huge phantom image filled with skulls and gravestones appeared, and it struck against the green mirage filled with plants.

"Is this the domain of rank 3 Magi?"

Leylin observed the two rank 3 Magi exchanging blows and commanded the A.I. Chip to record everything down carefully.

Battles between two rank 3 Magi were very rarely seen, so this was extremely precious information.

Leylin, who possessed Kemoyin's Pupil, the Book of Giant Serpent, as well as much information from the Four Seasons Garden, naturally knew that the power displayed by these two rank 3 Magi was still not a true "Domain".

A real domain was a terrifying might that only rank 4 Morning Star Magi would be able to produce.

In a domain, all Magi who were weaker than rank 4 would have their abilities suppressed by a few levels, perhaps even to the point that they became like regular humans.

These two rank 3 Magi were only able to grasp a hint of this concept, and lacked the terrifying ability to suppress a Magus' might!

However, now that he had been forced into these two rank 3 Magi's "Domains," Leylin couldn't help but emit a few large darkness elemental runes, as if wanting to have a standoff with the domains.

"The domains of these two rank 3 Magi are already beginning to affect the Magi around them. Though the effect is very slight, it still isn't weak enough to be ignored."

Leylin gave the two figures, who were now hard to differentiate, a long look, and stood without any hesitation.

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Sage

"Shadow Stealth!"

After standing up, Leylin used the spell that had the most outstanding concealing abilities out of all of the the rank 1 dark elemental magic he knew.

With the added bonus from his solidified spiritual force as a rank 2 Magus, Shadow Stealth was now terrifyingly formidable.

Leylin's figure disappeared from the VIP room in an instant, such that even the rank 2 Magi outside were not able to detect him.

"Alistair actually sided with the dark Magi. With him as the leading cause, this sets the background for the Third Magus War."

Leylin was unmoved by this, his body like a mirage as he hurried along.

"He's not my business anyway. I just need to know if he has anything I need in his possession!"

The essence from the Wisdom Tree must have some extraordinary effects for ancient Magi to view it so highly.

Though Leylin possessed a high-grade meditation technique, he wouldn't mind some extra assurance for when he wanted to break through.

Boom!*

Alistair leapt, his powerful hind legs leaving behind two deep pits in the ground.

With much momentum, he fiercely jumped out of the hole and began to run wildly on the field.

"He's over there!"

Following closely behind him was that group of rank 2 Magi from the light Magi alliance. Upon seeing the situation, the leader immediately waved his sleeve!

Weng weng!*

A concentrated volley of countless bugs was produced from his sleeves, and immediately after, a huge grey cloud floated out from the large sleeves of his robes.

Upon closer inspection, this 'cloud' was actually comprised of many densely packed bugs.

These bugs had two compound eyes, and their mandibles were fierce and sharp. A pair of translucent wings flapped at a high frequency, producing waves of an ear-piercing sound that would cause one to feel fidgety.

"Go!" This light Magus pointed at Alistair.

The bugs chirped in a way that shook the heavens, forming the image of a human face without eyes, and chased after Alistair, who was currently still in his werewolf form.

The huge human face streaked across the sky, looking like a black cloud of gas in the air. It quickly caught up to the werewolf who was fleeing, opened its mouth, and roared at him.

"Awooo!" The werewolf faced the heavens and howled, gathering two large masses of wind-elemental energy particles that turned into wind blades, one horizontal and the other vertical. It turned into a huge cross shape, and chopped towards the human face in the air.

The wind blade trembled slightly as it streaked past the face. In that moment, the bugs scattered and then regrouped, completely unharmed by the attack.

"Chi chi…" Along with the cries from the numerous bugs, a great grey 'flood' was spat out from the human face, which engulfed the werewolf within.

Upon closer inspection, within the 'flood' were several worms that were even tinier than most insects, their sharp mouths glinting with light.

Chi chi!!!*

The grey worms wrapped around the werewolf in an instant, and the horrifying sounds of something being gnawed into were heard.

"Woo woo…" From within the grey worms, the werewolf's pitiful howls could be heard.

"Alright! Now that he's been caught by the Death Insects, he can't run!"

The light Magus who manipulated the worms grinned, "Go, get him! Steal the treasure and essence of the Wisdom Tree!"

"As expected from the 'Death Bug Manipulator', Jajone!" The rank 2 Magi following him exclaimed in admiration and hastened towards their target.

At this moment, a beautiful melody from a recorder travelled from some distance away.

The formless sound waves swept through the area, and swarms of grey bugs fell one after another.

Boom!* The surface of the earth cracked open, and two rank 2 Magi donning the robes of the dark Magi rushed out, accompanied by two huge white fireballs striking the human face in the air.

"Ah…" The human face emitted a sound similar to the shrieks of a female, and the face then began to distort.

In merely a couple of seconds, the face was shrouded with white flames, and large groups of Death Bugs dropped.

"It looks like you've long since sided with the dark Magi!"

The huge face formed out of bugs seemed to be connected to the spiritual force of the light Magus; after it had been burnt through, he visibly paled.

However, he cared not about his injuries, and instead focused his attention on Alistair, who had escaped from the attack of the worms.

The werewolf was now in a pitiful state. More than half of the pretty fur on his body had disappeared, revealing patches of pink skin and flesh.

On his body were some very large wounds, revealing muscle tissue that had been severely damaged. One could even see bone.

Chi chi!* The blood vessels and muscles visible on the wounds constantly wriggled, and layers of flesh covered the injury and stopped the flow of fresh blood. At areas which were barren of fur, a fine layer of fur began to grow.

The abnormal healing ability of werewolf exhibited its strength here.

"Let's go!" With a wave from a rank 2 dark Magus, countless white ribs and bone spurs appeared in front of the light Magi, forming a large wall.

The wall seemed to have a life of its own, cunningly moving and trapping the light Magi within.

Then, with Alistair in tow, the two dark Magi left.

Bang! Bang!*

From within the white bone cage, the dull thuds of people ramming into the cage were heard. One after another, hemisphere-like shapes appeared all around the cage, and around these shapes were even some minute cracks.

These cracks increased in size, and eventually, the cage exploded open!

The white dust from the broken spurs dissipated, revealing the figures of a few light Magi.

"There are still rank 2 dark Magi reinforcements! The situation is getting more troublesome! Send out the signal!"

The Magus who was the leader of the light Magi roared.

A Magus nodded and swiped upwards, and a shooting star with alternating red and green colours streaked through the sky.

Xiu xiu xiu!*

Minutes later, thirteen Magi in black robes with iron crowns on their heads arrived at the scene.

"Alistair has already sided with the dark Magi. There's now a rank 3 Magus holding Lord Hoduke back, and there are also two dark Magi who took Alistair away!"

The light Magus looked to be in a difficult position.

"It's the same situation that we are in! Don't worry though. We've sprinkled large amounts of the pollen of the Nine Threaded Flower at the auction area. As long as he was there, he'll definitely be unable to escape the pursuit of the Patchy Bees."

A Magus whose crown was a lot larger than everyone else answered.

"We are extremely confident in the setup of the Great Sage." The leader of the light Magi bowed, displaying his respect towards the sage.

These thirteen Magi were actually sages of Iron Crown, and were absolute existences in terms of their might!

Their neutral stance also caused the light Magus leader to have to do away with his haughty attitude.

"Now that the dark Magi are also involved, we may not be able to provide you with more help. You know that the very reason why we have been able to maintain our reputations as towering existences is our neutral stance!"

The Great Sage continued.

"Great Sage…" The leader of the light Magi's face fell, and turned icy. "We signed a contract stating that you would pursue Alistair. What do you mean by those words, Great Sage?"

"But… what about the dark Magi?" The Great Sage looked to be in a difficult position. Meanwhile, the leader of the light Magi had a vile look on his face.

"Just attack. We will take on the pressure from the dark Magi. The conditions in the contract we agreed on can be altered, and I can even concede on some matters…"

The leader was silent for a moment and then chose to make a compromise.

Besides, they did not have much time left.

After hearing this, the Great Sage of Iron Crown smiled, looking as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

He produced a transparent glass bottle from within his robes, a creature with numerous compound eyes at the centre within the bottle. This creature looked like a bee with an image of a black eye on its yellow wings, and was quietly resting within the glass bottle. Traces of intelligence and quick-wittedness flashed through its eyes.

The Great Sage opened the neck of the bottle, and after flying in circles a few times, the little creature, the Patchy Bee, began to fly in a certain direction.

"It has found them!" the Great Sage exclaimed, dense metal plating appearing on his body and forming the armour that Knights usually wore into battle.

Bang!*

The white skeleton of a large horse rose from the ground, green spiritual flames burning in its eye sockets and being snorted from its nostrils.

"My old buddy, I'll have to use you again!" The sage in armour stroked an old and tattered pair of reins and sighed with regret.

He fiercely rode the skeletal horse, and roared from deep within his throat. "Iron Crown!"

"Glory for life! Advance for our responsibilities!" The sages present answered in a loud voice.

The skeletal warhorse neighed, and black liquid metal covered the entire body of the horse. In an instant, the skeletal warhorse turned into a giant metallic beast with sharp barbs protruding from the surface of its body.

Lu Lu!*

One after another, metallic warhorses struggled out of the ground and carried the other sages. Some of the sages wore dazzling magic robes, while others donned metallic armour. Powerful spells were sent out in a constant stream.

In an instant the thirteen sages with iron crowns turned into Steel Knights possessing immense power!

"Chase after them!"

Following the orders of the Great Sage, the thirteen warhorses charged forward, leaving behind traces of burning hoofprints.

"The inheritance from ancient Magi! This is definitely a branch of the ancient Magi!"

The light Magi's eyelids twitched as they uttered these words in their hearts.

In the south coast, there was a rumour floating around about the Magi organisation with a neutral stance, Iron Crown. These thirteen sages of Iron Crown had received the power of the inheritance from some ancient ruins, and were henceforth able to set up and establish Iron Crown!

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Obstruction

"A full body armour, and a spirit animal with formidable attack power as a mount!"

The light Magus mumbled to himself.

"This must be the inheritance from the ancient Steel Knights!" Beside him, another light Magus sighed in admiration.

"In ancient times, Magi were able to obtain very abundant resources. Even high-grade meditation techniques weren't anything special, and mere official Magi were able to obtain them as well! Many Magi discarded all prejudices they had towards factions and sects, learning and improving together. They even formed a huge alliance, conquering one world after another! That was the golden era of the Magi!"

He repeated, eyes burning with fervent passion.

"But for some reason, the ancient Magi received some huge blow, and historians made a conjecture that there was a world that was especially strong, and our Magus World's attack on them was thwarted."

"In order to prevent the war from spreading to our world, the ancient Magi made the painful decision to close the channel that connected them to this world, and sealed the other channels that were connected to other worlds. Even then, the ancient Magi who had suffered greatly lost their ability to pass on their abilities, and eventually declined."

The leader of the light Magi sighed ruefully and then narrated this history like it was some ancient poem.

"Even if Magi were able to receive the inheritance from ancient Magi, they still lacked some of the required materials from other worlds, which made it impossible for them to progress!"

"Hence, the Magi of today now use meditation techniques to progress, because this is the best route, and many could use the experiences of their seniors to advance. The ancient Magi who had acquired the inheritances were extremely pitiful. If they were lucky, they were able to find resources that were compatible with their bodies and improve, but most of them were stuck at rank 1 for their whole life."

The Leader said.

"The ancient Steel Knights are said to be from a world close to us. It's a specific profession unique to the Steel Lava world. After conquering that world, the ancient Magi altered our bodies with some methods, which resulted in the special state of evolution that the Steel Knights can achieve. Without an enormous amount of luck, their strength will stay at this point forever, so you don't have to envy them."

"What should we do now? Should we proceed at a faster pace?"

A Magus with an inverted crimson cross in his eyes asked.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

While travelling, the rank 2 Magi used their minds to continue their conversation.

With the help of their solidified spiritual force, their thoughts were processed at a rate many times faster than that of a rank 1 Magus. With just a wave of spiritual force, large amounts of images and words could be contained within.

"No! We're going to slow down!"

With a cold glint in his eyes, the leader of the light Magi slowed.

"Just let those Iron Crown Steel Knights charge at the frontlines!"

"A portion of the essence of the Wisdom Tree and that treasure should be enough to motivate them to go all out! We'll follow behind them."

The leader exclaimed coldly.

This was actually a ploy. The Steel Knights were well aware that the light Magi might take advantage of them by following them behind, but under the temptation of the treasures, they still chose to pursue their targets.

As for the contract with the light Magi? If they really managed to obtain treasure, the light Magi would pay a large amount for it anyway.

These Steel Knights were very confident in their abilities, they were sure that they would be able to end the battle before the light Magi arrived!

Alistair and the dark Magi who were fleeing at the front also stopped at this point.

In front of them, a figure suddenly appeared out of thin air and blocked their path.

This man looked to be extremely plain, and if he were ever to be in a crowd, he would be difficult to be picked out. However, he had the unique energy waves that belonged to rank 2 Magi, causing the three's faces to change.

"Hand over the essence of the Wisdom Tree and the treasure you possess!"

The middle-aged man sounded extremely haughty, taking a large gulp from the flask at his side and looking unperturbed.

"You…" The two dark Magi behind Alistair became extremely annoyed. So what if this middle-aged man was a rank 2 Magus? They had three Magi who had reached rank 2!

"Awoo!" Alistair's answer was extremely simple, howling at Leylin. His face, which had already turned into that of a half-wolf, produced an angry expression as he pounced towards Leylin.

Pu pu!* While running, he opened his mouth and two balls of giant wind-elemental energy particles flew towards Leylin like explosives.

Meanwhile, the werewolf seemed to transform into wind and hid in the intense draft, approaching Leylin like a hurricane, his sharp claws filled with an iciness and bloodlust.

"The second stage of beast transformation!" Leylin focused on the werewolf who was nearing him, blue lights occasionally flashing in his eyes.

With a sweep of his right arm, red powder spread in the air.

"Scorching Touch!"

Two streaks that brought about intense heat penetrated the wind elemental energy balls and shot towards the werewolf!

"Awoo!" Alistair howled repeatedly, his body constantly changing directions.

However, the two lines of Scorching Torch seemed to have a navigation system and turned a circle in the air, blocking the werewolf's path. Based on the drills from the simulations performed by the A.I. Chip, the way in which Leylin was using the Scorching Torch was similar in familiarity to one who had been analyzing it for decades. He had even researched and created a few tiny tricks that were uniquely his.

"Woo!" The werewolf tried his best to dodge the attack on his chest, but instead, his right arm was directly struck by the red ray of light.

Alistair howled, a furry arm with a claw on it flying away.

"Bind!"

Leylin stretched his arms forward, and slight shadows formed two black figures that twined around Alistair, who had now lost an arm.

"Come help!"

Bang!* Under the pester of the shadows, Alistair was forced to undo his werewolf transformation and roared, producing the voice of a human.

The two dark Magi with him exchanged gazes, and suddenly made their move!

A bald Magus placed his hands on the ground, chanting a few mournful-sounding incantations that sounded like the howls of a spirit seeking vengeance.

Chi chi!* A black thorny bone spur forest suddenly emerged from the surface of the ground.

Whether rocks or plants, they were all penetrated through by these black bone spurs.

The thorny bone spur forest increased in area, its blackness approaching Leylin.

Bo! Bo!* The two black figures were pierced by the bone spurs, but it did not hurt even a hair on Alistair's body.

"Hehe, Siley, you did well!"

Another dark Magus laughed, and the black rod in his arms extended.

"Spirits laying silent in the Weeping Abyss, come back to life,!"

A green fireball suddenly formed in front of the black rod and exploded, turning into starry specks that shot into the bone spur forest.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

The black bone spurs Siley had summoned forth levitated, forming thousands of large skeletal soldiers holding bone nail hammers and white giant hatchets, charging towards Leylin.

"A combination spell!"

Leylin cried out involuntarily. Within rank 2 spells, if the spells displayed by two Magi were similar in terms of their effects, there could be a combo effect if they utilized secret methods that allowed them to combine attacks.This type of magic would then be called a combination spell, and its power far exceeded that of regular rank 2 spells!

However, there were few rank 2 Magi whose body and spiritual force were at a similar level. The conditions for releasing this type of magic were very harsh, and there was only a small number of Magi who fit the requirements. Leylin never imagined that he would get to see this.

Bang!*

The large white nail hammer slammed down, bringing with it the ear-piercing sounds of an explosion. The air nearby seemed to have its pressure sucked away by the strong wind, and Leylin momentarily felt suffocated.

[Estimated might of target's purely physical attack: 90 degrees!] The A.I. Chip provided in time.

Leylin dodged the hammer, and a red layer appeared on the surface of his body. "Purely physical attack? Does that mean there's still a magical attack?"

"Ga ga!" At this moment, a large skeletal soldier that saw Leylin escaping opened its mouth.

Multiple white bone spurs flew powerfully like white raindrops, covering all the areas that Leylin was planning on retreating to.

Rumble!* The white bone spurs slammed into the layer on Leylin's body and then exploded.

The immense energy waves wreaked havoc on the red layer, and the rays flickered inconsistently, illustrating its difficulty in withstanding this attack.

"Ga ga!"

Behind that skeletal soldier, large groups of soldiers began to shoot out spurs as well.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

Under their attacks, the red protective layer on the surface of Leylin's skin shattered loudly.

Bang! Bang!*

Large amounts of black, densely-packed scales appeared as his body was thrown a long distance away by the undulations from the explosion.

Yellow rays flashed as the shape-shifting effects were destroyed, revealing Leylin's true appearance.

"Latent Fireball!" "Scorching Touch!"

Red and white flames extended, and the bone spurs that filled the skies were burnt to ashes.

"Black flames? You- You're Leylin!"

The bald Magus who produced the black bone spurs couldn't help but exclaim, stunned.

"Long time no see, Director Siley!"

Leylin grinned as he greeted Siley.

"Siley! Is this the student that betrayed the academy? He's actually advanced to rank 2!"

The rank 2 Magus who cooperated with Siley gained interest as he looked Leylin up and down, "He's quite talented!"

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Goodbye

"Leylin, do you also wish to obtain the extract from the Wisdom Tree?"

Siley looked at what could be said to be the most outstanding student in the history of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, a complicated expression on his face.

On one hand, there was no need to prove Leylin's talent as a Magus. To be able to advance to rank 2 at such an age and at such a speed was something rarely seen in recent years of Magus history.

Siley believed if Leylin could maintain this rate, it was definitely possible for him to became a rank 3 Magus before he turned a hundred, and advance to the most powerful ranking in the entire south coast! If he was still in the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, the school would definitely be in its golden age.

On the other hand, Leylin had already betrayed the academy, and his fierce strike back had resulted in the death of Marb, the elder of the Lilytell family, one of the three large families in the academy. He had even killed off a large number of rank 1 Magi, causing the Lilytell family's power to decline by a large amount and almost have their name removed from the Magus World!

Hence, Siley had many thoughts regarding Leylin's appearance.

"Yes, director!"

Since his shapeshifting spell had already been removed, Leylin no longer had anything to hide.

"I hope you don't interfere, as the essence of the Wisdom Tree and the treasure Alistair obtained are items that I need!" Leylin bowed slightly.

Looking back on things, the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had treated him quite well, not taking into account the actions of the Lilytell Family. They had abided by the basic principle of trading using equal values, allowing Leylin to be enlightened as a Magus and walk the path of the strong.

Hence, unless there were some special circumstances, he did not wish to exchange blows with Siley.

"How arrogant! You're just a newly advanced rank 2 Magus, and yet, you actually dare…"

Before Siley had the chance to react, the dark Magus with him had already furiously lashed out.

In his eyes, no matter how much of a genius Leylin was, he had only just advanced. Though he had the terrifying battle achievement of killing two rank 2 Magi, who knew if he had taken advantage of the situation and killed them while they were seriously injured?

Hence, his attitude towards Leylin was a little too much.

"Young man, let a senior like me teach you how you should act in the circle of rank 2 Magi."

Two masses of black rays were produced from this rank 2 Magus' hands, forming a skull.

"What pointless preachings! How bothersome!"

Leylin muttered to himself, the red in his eyes becoming increasingly intense. On his wrist, the transparent crystal had begun to emit a dim red colour.

"What did you say?" The rank 2 Magi who was speaking was startled.

"I said you should do something about your habit of preaching. Otherwise, I don't think you'll live to see the sun tomorrow!"

Leylin suddenly raised his head, smiling brilliantly.

Tss tss!*

Large amounts of white smoke poured out of the body of one of the large skeletal soldiers from before. Suddenly, the frame of the soldier scattered, turning into a pile of bones on the ground.The fragmented bones were corroded again, and ended up as a pile of black powder.

From a circle of charred earth, corrosion began to spread in all directions with Leylin at the centre of it all, the grass rotting in an instant and turning into something similar to mud.

Numerous bugs fell to the ground, and a mole flipped over, body stiff as it lay upside down, rotting.

As if the Grim Reaper had arrived, the entire region sank into deathly stillness.

Slam! Thud!*

One after another, the large skeletal soldiers fell, their frames falling apart as they turned into powder.

"You used a poison attack that affects a large area!" Alistair was already injured from before, and under the powerful attack of Leylin's Toxic Bile, his right arm began to fester.

Alistair looked miserable as he gritted his teeth, producing a test tube and pouring it on the wound on his right arm.

Rumble!* A tongue of flames covered the area down from his right shoulder, and the smell of flesh burning was produced.

Alistair grimaced. After the flames disappeared, blood was no longer flowing freely from the wound on his shoulder, and the festering from before had disappeared.

"Go! I'll stay behind and teach him a lesson!"

The dark Magus exclaimed coldly, with a hint of bloodlust.

"Alright! Be careful of the light Magi, I suspect that they have made some agreement with Iron Crown."

Alistair quickly replied, moving to ride a magnificent flying carpet that appeared from his body.

All of a sudden, his eyes glazed over and he fainted!

Bang!* Alistair's body hit the ground; there were mysterious black patterns that looked like snakes slithering on his face.

Even the flame potion from earlier was unable to deal with the toxins!

"What ferocious neurotoxins! It can lie dormant before it completely flares up! This is bad!"

The expression of the dark Magus who found Leylin a nuisance changed vastly.

Immediately after, a pitch black gas surrounded his body.

The toxins of the terrifying ancient beast, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, began to corrode his body and spirit!

"I told you before. You can't stop me!"

Like a Grim Reaper that had descended to Earth, the phantom image of a huge python appeared behind Leylin as he headed straight for Alistair, who was in a dead faint. After taking the essence of the Wisdom Tree from his lap, Leylin went through the pouch on Alistair's waist, and dug out a crudely made wooden cup.

The surface of this cup was an aged dark yellow, with the unique lines of the ancient tree. It also produced the slightly sweet smell of vegetation.

Though the appearance was nothing spectacular, Leylin could feel a very ancient and aged aura.

Even if it was an inanimate object, the cup still gave off a feeling of intelligence.

"This is… a wooden cup made from the bark of the Wisdom Tree!"

Leylin touched his chin. The reason why he was so sure was that besides the A.I. Chip's tests and his own conjectures, the essence of the Wisdom Tree he now possessed was beginning to emit a slight green lustre, which was a huge indicator.

Bo!*

Leylin relaxed his right hand, and the green bundle of light disappeared into the wooden cup.

Like ice melting, the extract of the ancient tree and the wooden cup fused together. The cup was instantly covered by a layer of green light, and the inside of the cup was filled halfway with a transparent liquid. This liquid emanated an aura of vitality and intelligence.

Leylin sniffed the liquid for a moment and felt his mind clearing. The usual myriad of thoughts that went through his mind kept appearing, and the questions that he had been faced with while training began to be solved, causing him to feel more open-minded.

"Is this enlightenment?"

Joy appeared on Leylin's face, and a layer of light from his hands sealed the cup.

"The ancient Wisdom Tree! It truly is the crystallization of ancient intelligence! Just breathing in a little resulted in such a dramatic effect. What will happen if I use it all?"

A fiery look appeared on Leylin's expression, and with a flash of silver light from his hands, the wooden cup and the essence within disappeared.

"Unexpectedly, the person who had been a student has already surpassed me!"

Siley was also surrounded by a layer of black gas. While glancing at Leylin, a bitter smile appeared.

With the corrosion from the toxins, neither he nor his partner was able to exhibit even 70% of their true strength. Even if they worked together, it would still be difficult to win against Leylin.

The dark Magus who did not like Leylin had long since fled, body flashing with the energy waves of spells used to dispel toxins.

Unfortunately, the black poison became denser, and did not seem to be able to be removed.

At the thought of what he had said, this dark Magus' face turned red. Thankfully, his face had been completely obscured by the black gas, so nobody could see what sort of expression he had.

Seeing Leylin holding the target of their mission, this dark Magus had all sorts of thoughts and his lips twitched, but in the end, he didn't say anything .

Leylin's might far exceeded his expectations. He was basically at the level of the elite within rank 2 Magi, and he or Siley were unable to handle him by themselves. Attempting to fight may incur the hatred of their opponent, as well as cause more unnecessary deaths.

Dark Magi were very shrewd people. Even if he was able to hold onto the essence of the Wisdom Tree, there was no way he would have the chance to use it for himself. Why would any dark Magus risk their lives for it then?

Leylin naturally did not know about the complex thoughts running through their minds. Based on experience, however, he was largely able to guess their train of thought.

Hence, after nodding briefly towards Siley, he turned to leave.

Step! Step!*

The sounds of the hoof steps of horses constantly sounded, and from the horizon a distance away, a team of Steel Knights appeared.

Though there were just thirteen people there, the knights were like a flood of steel that was charging towards them.

"It's the thirteen sages of Iron Crown, who form the Steel Knight Squad!"

Siley gulped, "Since when did they work together with light Magi? Or was this just a simple dispatchment?"

At this point, he couldn't help but chance a glance at Leylin.

Their target could only be Leylin, who had stolen the essence.

Lu lu!*

Thirteen giant steel beasts that spewed out flames and had green light in their eyes stopped before the group. They fanned out and surrounded the Magi.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* The leader's helmet automatically opened, revealing the face of the Great Sage. "Who has the essence of the Wisdom Tree?"

He looked around with suspicion.

Their target, Alistair, was now collapsed on the floor, and nobody knew if he was alive or dead. There was a high possibility that the essence had been divided amongst the Magi here, or had been stolen. He naturally did not recognise Leylin, who had only just showed up.

What made him the most annoyed was that all of the Magi present were staring at him the way they would a dead man.

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Prowess

"What's going on?"

The Great Sage was surprised, and all of a sudden, his body lost all its strength.

Boom!* Multiple steel creatures fell to the ground; the spirit flames in their black eye sockets died out. In a few seconds, they turned into dried up bones once again.

"Old friend!" The Great Sage wailed sorrowfully. His connection with his steed had been completely severed. In other words, the spirit of his companion of many years had been destroyed and no longer existed in this world.

"Who is it?" His eyes turned red.

That dark Magus and Siley turned in the same direction to look at Leylin, who had a helpless look on his face.

"It's you!" The Great Sage's face began to twitch. "You wretched trash! You dare…"

"How pointless!" Solidified blood-red rays shot out of Leylin's eyes, and the red light on his wrist was now extremely intense, to the point that it hit its limit. *Bang!* The early alert warning system crystal exploded, turning into sparkling powder.

"Shadow Domain!"

"Toxic Bile!"

Total blackness filled the entire region, and behind Leylin, a large number of shadows that looked like snakes forming the terrifying features of a Devil King.

The large shadow was like a beast that swallowed everything as it spread, the terrifying sounds of corrosion and the low huffs of those meeting the face of death sounding at the centre.

Bang!*

A moment later, the black shadow disappeared, leaving the thirteen sages with no light in their eyes as they collapsed. Even the spirits in their bodies had been eaten through by the poison.

"Demonic Poison King! It's Demonic Poison King Leylin!"

In an area not too far away, the few light Magi who were planning to take advantage of the decision turned pale in fear at the rotted corpses under the black mist.

Though they had heard of Leylin's nickname as the Demonic Poison King before, they had never understood how terrifying he could be.

"Ley-Leylin, you…"

Not just that dark Magus, even Siley was a little stunned as he looked at Leylin, whose eyes were still shooting out blood-red rays.

The thirteen sages of the Iron Crown were a firm force that had been safeguarding this region. Every one of them had the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus, and their leader, the Great Sage, was even at rank 2!

Siley knew that if he were to be trapped by this group, things would very very troublesome. Even fleeing would be an issue. The terrifying vitality of the spirit beasts was something that Magi who developed their strengths based on spells were unable to contend against.

Now, however, this little group of Steel Knights that had been around for hundreds of years had died, just like that? And their killer was a newly-advanced rank 2 Magus, Leylin?

Siley scratched his bald head, wondering if he had been caught in some Rank 3 Magus' illusion.

"Who else is there?"

Leylin's expression was a little strange and he began to roar, the blood-red in his eyes more prominent as they swept in the direction where the light Magi were hidden.

"This is bad! He's found us!"

The leader whispered softly, and the entire group rapidly withdrew a large distance. It couldn't be helped! Leylin's poisonous attack that could affect a large area had terrified them.

"Hah…"

Leylin's current situation was not good. Not only were there a few small wounds left behind by the retaliation of the Steel Knights, his expression was also crazed. White streams of air exited from his orifices.

[Liveliness of blood cells in host's body has exceeded threshold! Beginning procedure to forcefully control situation!]

All of a sudden, a flash of bright blue rays covered Leylin's body, and his body temperature lowered. The white mist condensed into fragments of ice inside and scattered all over Leylin's body.

"Damn it, I got emotional again!"

Under the control of the A.I. Chip and the stimulus from the biting cold, Leylin was finally able to regain his senses, eyes flashing with intelligence.

"I can't fight anymore, or else I'll descend into a crazed state and go on a killing rampage till I die…"

Leylin surveyed the area, keeping the sight of the battlefield in his mind.

Though walking the path of a warlock with a bloodline allowed him to possess an incredible might, to the point that he could use his innate talents from his bloodline to achieve victory against experienced rank 2 Magi or even kill them and gain a reputation for himself, this branch of ancient Magi, the Warlock, had quite a few flaws.

The issue of becoming overly emotional was one of the problems.

Compared to the rational Magus, Warlocks were easily affected by the external world and were often extremely emotional.

Slaughter and battles would easily result in fury for Warlocks, causing them to descend into a crazed state and lose part of their rationality. If he were to be surrounded by enemies, he would not be able to escape at all.

"My bloodline is much too pure. The moment it flares up, even the potion of tranquility will be rejected from my body."

Leylin checked his stats.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 104.3, Magic power: 53 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force) Status: Large amounts of adrenaline is being secreted. Similarity to emotional outburst of Warlock: 98.7%. Dispelling potion of tranquility.]

"A.I. Chip, use Plan C!" Leylin could only laugh bitterly and give out the command.

[Received authorisation, beginning small operation on Host's body.]

The A.I. Chip loyally answered. In that moment, Leylin's pupils turned sky blue, and cold energy particles were produced from all over his body.

"He seems to have a problem! Go!!!"

The light Magi who had been pursuing them saw Leylin acting weirdly. Excited, the light Magus who was the leader waved his sleeves and countless flying bugs came together to form half a human face, flying towards Leylin.

"You just don't know when to stop!"

A fire rose in Leylin's heart, but with the force from the chilliness, it was quickly suppressed.

His right hand slashed downwards, and a formless, translucent ripple spread like a wave in the air.

The formless ripple immediately collided with the sea of bugs.

Bang!* The half-formed human face stopped moving for a moment, and large amounts of flying bugs fell to the ground, their compound eyes no longer moving. The bodies became stiff and began to rot.

Huahuahua!* Like rain, the bugs fell from the sky and formed grey droplets.

The formless poison seemed to be able to go through the void and connect to the Magus' spiritual force, corroding his actual body.

The Magus who manipulated the flying bugs staggered back, black tendrils that looked like snakes spreading on his face.

"Quick, protect me and help me leave!" At this moment, the leader of the group of light Magi finally regretted his greediness. Even when Leylin was in a strange state, he was not somebody he could handle.

"You're thinking of leaving?" Not far away, Leylin's lips curved up in a sly smile, and the black defensive item on his hand exploded. Black rays were pulled into a shape, turning into a longbow.

"Toxic Bile!"

Leylin used his innate rank 2 spell once more, his left hand pulling the string and releasing an arrow in the direction of the fleeing light Magi.

Beng!*

With vibration from the string, a formless toxic arrow streaked through the sky, distorting the air as it passed.

On its way, the ground was charred black, plants died, creating a unique path that showed the arrow's route.

"No! You can't kill me! My father is-" The light Magus who was in the middle of escaping was so terrified that it seemed as if his spirit had departed. Next, his body trembled and his expression changed.

Ka-cha!* The clothes on his back were ripped open, revealing a translucent palm.

This palm was the size of that of a regular human, and it grabbed towards the transparent toxic arrow.

Beng!* A formless ripple spread, and the surrounding Magi quickly retreated, fearing the toxins.

"The protection from a rank 3 Magus?" Leylin watched on not far away, his desire to kill even stronger now, "Nobody can save you today!"

He pulled the string again. *Bzz!*

Along with the sounds of vibration, the toxic arrow that had been at a deadlock with the transparent palm exploded, forming countless tiny arrows that went flying in all directions.

Tss tss!* The translucent palm exploded in such a manner that there were numerous holes in it, which caused it to break down. From within, the roar of an old Magus could be heard.

With an expression full of disbelief, that light Magus stiffly collapsed.

On his back, a large wound from the explosion had been inflicted. His innate defensive spell that he had been so proud of had not been the slightest bit useful.

"You- you actually killed him! His father is a rank 3 Magus!"

Siley's voice trembled.

Leylin, who was still under the influence of the warlock bloodline effects, paid no heed to this. He turned, cold glaze piercing as he focused on Siley.

Siley quivered, suddenly remembering that his life was still in the hands of his opponent. He forced a smile, "Alright! I was just pointing it out. You can do whatever you want!"

Hesitation and struggle appeared in Leylin's expression, and dense black gas wrapped his body.

Whoosh whoosh!*

Strong black gales blew madly towards the distance, and in a moment, disappeared into the horizon.

"That crazy guy is finally gone!" Siley and his partner glanced at each other, and then Alistair who was heavily injured and unable to get up, with bitter smiles.

"What should we do? Jajone's dead! Lord Eric won't let us off!"

The other light Magi made sounds of indignation in unison.

"Kill those dark Magi and avenge Jajone!"

A light Magus stared hard at Siley and the rest with deep hatred.

Siley steeled his expression and stood with his partner, a ring of defensive energy particles appearing.

Pu! Pu! Pu!*

In that instant, the looks on the faces of the Magi present changed. The fierce toxins suddenly flared up.

In the havoc that Leylin had wreaked previously, the Magi present had somewhat been affected by the toxins of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, and this was difficult to remove.

The light Magi had been affected by the attack towards Jajone, and their injuries were even more serious.

The two groups of people exchanged gazes, and eventually decided on leaving in a huff, rather than clashing.

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The Chase

In a grassland filled with blood-red pastureland.

An old male Magus with a head of white hair and a kind smile was guiding a few acolytes along the pasture. In their hands were a few metallic items used for harvesting.

"The reason for our existence is to seek truth! The path of a Magus is a continuous search for the truth, researching about phenomena and objects, and finding the rules in them and applying these concepts to ourselves. This is the source of motivation and strength for Magi!"

While walking, the old Magus taught the acolytes who were following behind him.

"I've already told you about the unique characteristics of the Bloody Grass. However, you've only seen pictures and samples. Now, I've brought you here, where it is naturally grown…"

"Arnold! Take a look at this. Is this Bloody Grass any different from the rest?"

The old Magus asked a male acolyte with freckles on his face.

"Yes! It's thinner than others of its kind, and the veined pattern of blood on the surface isn't very clear. It might have met with some natural predator, specifically… specifically…"

Arnold was still a large boy, with some hair growing above his lips. He walked ahead and extended his right hand towards the Bloody Grass, wanting to take a closer look.

Xiu!*

In that instant, a red shadow shot out from the Bloody Grass, heading straight for Arnold's face!

"Ah…" Arnold staggered and fell back, alarmed.

Pak!* A black flash of light was shot out from the old Magus' hands, striking the shadow down.

It was a red beetle-like organism with grey spots on its back. Its sharp mouth let out cold glints, its teeth that were half the size of its body still moving.

"This is the Sawtooth Beetle, the natural predator of the Bloody Grass! It loves to gnaw at the roots of the Bloody Grass. If it is cultivated by hand, one must patrol every day and eliminate this sort of insect!"

"Arnold! You didn't even perform the most basic defence before observing the grass. This carelessness will cost you your life in the future!"

The old Magus shook his head and then headed off into the distance.

Arnold turned a little red as he rubbed his head, quickly stood up and caught up.

"Hey, big guy! You really are lucky! The spiral sawtooth attack of the Sawtooth Beetle is something even level 2 acolytes might not be able to take on! If not for mentor, you would now be a cold corpse…"

A female acolyte approached him, snorting in disdain.

"Hehe…" Arnold scratched his head, making him seem even more thickheaded.

"Let's go! How could you even become an acolyte with that level of intelligence? It's basically a disgrace to us and to our mentor!" A boy wearing fancy clothes and seemed to have received education on the etiquette of the nobility walked past, leaving Arnold far behind.

"Mentor! The Bloody Grass can strengthen one's body to a certain extent, and is a huge temptation to some high-energy beings. It is usually found in places where high-energy beings hunt, so should we be a little more careful?"

The acolyte of nobility ran in front of the old Magus.

"You're on the right track, but I've already scouted the area. The only high-energy being here is just a Gale Shackled Weasel, which is about the limits of what you are able to handle with your abilities!"

The old Magus nodded, praising him.

"Though Bloody Grass can strengthen the body to a certain extent, its poison is too strong for us humans. It needs to be processed before it can be turned into a potion! Your mission now is to harvest enough Bloody Grass to brew a standard portion of body-strengthening potion, as well as remove the poison within!"

The old Magus began to issue the task.

"Understood, mentor!" A few acolytes immediately brought out their apparatus and separated, with the old Magus at the centre so that he was able to help every one of them in time.

"Good!" Seeing this, the old Magus nodded in satisfaction.

Xiu!* A Sawtooth Beetle shot out of the Bloody Grass, brushed past Arnold's face and scared him so much that he fell.

"Haha! Look at that idiot! Mentor had already demonstrated that there could be beetles hidden in the Bloody Grass that looked less healthy, and yet you still try to harvest it!"

The acolyte of nobility coincidentally walked past. He raised his hand and chanted a few syllables, and a corrosive ball shot out, putting an end to the beetle before mocking him relentlessly.

"Look! I've almost gathered the required amount of resources, and you haven't even filled the bottom yet!"

The acolyte opened his bag and proudly showed it to Arnold.

"Don't bother with him! Levi, come help me! The roots of this Bloody Grass are too hard!" The girl from before hummed in dissatisfaction.

"Alright, alright, I'll be right there!"

Levi quickly cast Arnold away, approaching the girl and being particularly attentive to her.

Though they were still children, the youngsters of the south coast usually matured early. There were already indications of this early on.

Upon seeing this, the old Magus reminiscenced, "This is youth…"

He mumbled to himself, producing a pipe with golden decorations on the surface and beginning to smoke. White circles of smoke were constantly puffed out and appeared in the air.

However, while he was recalling the past, a slight tremble of the ground began.

"Huh? This is?" The old Magus immediately put out his pipe, this peculiar situation immediately arousing his interest.

In the next few seconds, the tremors became more intense till the ground began to shake substantially.

From a distance away, a group of strange beings, such as two-headed wolves, four-legged mutated elks and all sorts of high-energy beings, normal beings, carnivorous and herbivorous animals banded together that formed a wave that was hard to avoid.

At the very front, the old Magus even found a few large terrifying beasts that gave him a sense of danger!

"Assemble! Assemble here!" The old Magus yelled, his voice a little hoarse from his nerves.

"What the hell is going on?"

The acolyte of nobility, Levi, raised his head and stared at the scene, stunned. All of a sudden, he was drowned by the large numbers of Sawtooth Beetles that flew out from the Bloody Grass. The girl with him could not escape the fate of death either, the sound of flesh and blood being gnawed on constantly being produced.

The group of beetles were like grey spots constantly rising from the Bloody Grass, forming a cloud that entered the wave.

"What's going on? Why are there animals fleeing from danger in this season? Is there some extremely dangerous being chasing after them?"

The old Magus wondered to himself, not even sparing a glance at Arnold who had been running pitifully.

Xiu xiu!*

A human figure streaked through the sky at an incredibly fast rate, creating two air waves that had long ripples trailing behind.

"You can't escape!"

A massive voice travelled from behind the figure. Following the sound, a large bundle of white light immediately appeared in front of the black figure, turning into a large shield.

"Scorching Touch!" With a wave of his hand, two streaks of red rays shot out from the shadow and created two large holes in the shield. Under the constant shimmering of the white rays, the shield quickly returned to its prior state.

Under the hindrance of the shield, the black figure stopped, revealing the appearance of a young Magus. He had black hair, his features handsome yet sinister.

Behind him, a line of white light brought with it immense pressure as it burst towards him.

Weng!* A formless energy boundary dissipated in all directions with the light at the centre. A fantastical land of light and beauty suddenly descended upon this region.

"This is… the domain of a highly ranked Magus! It's a rank 3 Magus!"

The old Magus gaped, his eyes on the verge of popping out, "Who in the world is he chasing after? Is it also a rank 3 lord Magus?"

The rays dissipated, revealing the figure of a blonde Magus.

"Poison King Leylin! You dare kill my blood! Even though Jajone was just trash, our family name must not be tarnished!

Countless rays were emitted from his body, forming a huge pike made of countless other pikes.

"Heavenly Pike!" The large numbers of pikes shot towards Leylin like raindrops.

"Toxic Bile!" Leylin spread his arms and a wave of toxins rippled towards the pikes. *Tss tss!* A large amount of white gas sizzled out, and the sounds of corrosion was produced from the pike formed of heavenly rays. It quickly began to fill with holes.

However, though the pike's power seemed to have been weakened, it still charged towards Leylin.

"Kemoyin's Scales!" From the surface of Leylin's skin, countless black scales with incomplete runes on it emerged. The black light exploded from the scales, forming a huge shield in front of him.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

The pike penetrated the shield with black runes, focusing on Leylin's body and created a large number of sparks.

An unnatural flush appeared on Leylin's face, and he retreated. While flying backwards, he waved fiercely.

"Latent Fireball!"

Large amounts of black flames wrapped the shield of light from before, combusting fiercely.

The shield of light had become slightly thinner after the attack of the Scorching Touch. Now, with the attack from the Latent Fireball, white rays constantly flickered and eventually exploded, turning into little milky-white lights that were burnt till nothing was left by the black flames.

"Light Domain!" The blonde rank 3 Magus suddenly spread his arms, looking ready to give a hug.

Boom!* The boundaries of light shifted such that it increased in area, including Leylin within.

A huge suction power exploded from the light Magus, and Leylin was involuntarily dragged closer to him.

"As expected of a rank 3 Magus! Though this light domain is but an imitation, it is still slightly able to suppress my strength!" Feeling the rapid increase of the number of light elemental particles in the air and the huge decrease in dark elemental particles, Leylin's expression became grim.

"Die!"

A white bundle of light carrying with it a terrifying destructive power rose from the rank 3 light Magus' hand, advancing towards Leylin.

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Possession

"Activate gravitational spell formation at full power—100 times gravity!"

Leylin pressed his temples and ordered.

Weng weng!*

A large, dark brown formation lit up and rose from the ground and tore apart the milky white domain.

The light Magus was stunned for a moment, the ball of energy in his hands changing its course and missing Leylin.

"An ancient spell formation? When did he set that up?"

The light Magus saw the terrifying formation that spanned for kilometres, shock apparent in his expression.

"I'll take advantage of this! Suction spell formation!" An inverted "L" shaped rune brightened on Leylin's body, and as if he was being sucked in by a black hole, he turned into a black streak and vanished.

"What an interesting little guy! It's a pity that all your methods are useless against me!" The light Magus calmly looked in the direction in which Leylin had fled, and suddenly laughed, shooting a glance at the old Magus from the corner of his eye. He turned into a ray of light and quickly left the area.

"Poison? Then he should be the Demonic Poison King Leylin, whose name has been going around! I wonder which faction and organisation that rank 3 Magus is from…"

The old Magus mumbled to himself in a daze, not noticing the look of envy in Arnold's eyes.

……

Boom!* A black shadow slammed into the spell formation, the powerful suction spell formation smashed to pieces.

Leylin let out a long sigh, "A rank 3 Magus is someone I can't deal with yet…"

In the beginning, under the influence of his emotional state, Leylin had killed off Jojane, who had a powerful backing. Under his enraged state, he had not even taken the most basic protective measures.

When he had killed Jojane, the death mark from a rank 3 Magus was left on Leylin's body.

All Magi usually had this method. For Leylin, a mark from a rank 2 Magus basically had no effect on him. However, the mark from a rank 3 Magus was evidently not so easily dealt with.

Leylin forced a smile and took a look at his sea of consciousness.

Within the crimson sea was a little, maggot shaped, milky white ray of light. While Leylin was not paying attention to it, it would expand.

A large amount of time and spiritual force would be needed to wear down and expel this mark.

This was the best solution provided by the A.I. Chip, but Leylin would be found by his opponent every so often. There was not enough time to deal with this.

After a few battles, Leylin had a better understanding of his own strength.

In his current state, he was a terrifying existence to rank 2 Magi who were lucky enough to rank up.

With a high-grade meditation technique, as well as a powerful bloodline, Leylin's advancements in rank as a warlock always brought immense benefits and increases in strength.

However, for similar rank 2 Magi who also possessed high-grade meditation techniques, the gap was not so obvious.

"In my current state, I am considered an elite amongst rank 2 Magi. However, in the face of any rank 3 Magi, I have no confidence at all. Even being able to escape would depend on my luck!"

Leylin shook his head and walked out.

In front of him was a small, desolate little town, with dust, rubbish and all sorts of vines growing on the ground.

"No! The mark on my body is constantly emitting waves to track my location. No matter where I am on the south coast, I'll easily be found. I need to go to a place far, far away, to the point that the distance can interfere with the mark's transmission of information!"

Leylin's eyes showed his resolution. This was the desolate town where the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret plane had been!

"If this really doesn't work out, I can just use the teleportation spell formation and leave this place! If I'm quick enough, he won't be able to find out about this place, and I may still be able to return!"

If the Magus did not find out about this secret plane, Leylin could remove all traces of the mark, and then confidently strut back into the south coast.

The moment the entrance to the secret plane was found, no matter how much Leylin did not want to do so, he could only hold back the pain of having to abandon this place, destroy the teleportation spell formation there, and leave this place forever.

"I didn't think I'd need to use my last resort so soon!"

Leylin laughed bitterly, and from a spell formation at the villa, entered the secret plane. While going through the spell formation that went through the void, Leylin moved his hand and a red ray disappeared into the wall.

"I haven't been able to obtain probing spells or spiritually branded slaves. If I'm going over, I'll need to do it myself. Though I've already ascertained that the teleportation spell formation is alright after checking with the A.I. Chip, gambling like this really leaves a sour taste in my mouth…"

Leylin furrowed his brows and came to the secret room in the narrow pathway.

Though he was sure that the teleportation spell formation was fine, the state of the surroundings around it might not be alright.

What he could confirm, though, was that the other side of the spell was in a place that was very far away. As long as he escaped and broke the connection between the two spell formations, he would be able to break away from the chase of the rank 3 Magus!

"I'll take a look over there, and if it really isn't a good environment there, I can still come back!" Leylin consoled himself.

Pu!* All of a sudden, a bright, milky-white beam shot out from Leylin's body and up into the sky, heading upwards in a straight line as if penetrating the hindrances of the secret room.

Leylin covered his head and staggered back. In his sea of consciousness, that milky-white light was spreading outwards, and no matter how Leylin used his spiritual force to obstruct it, it was of no use.

Leylin seemed to see a blonde rank 3 Magus rushing towards him.

"The time he takes to detect me has shortened. He's found this place!"

Leylin's expression turned grim, "I'll have to use my last resort and completely give up on this place!"

Not only that, even the teleportation spell formation had to be destroyed as well. If not, the Magus could give chase through the spell formation. With the mark, it was impossible for Leylin to hide.

Tss tss!* Numerous black tendrils of smoke were emitted from Leylin's body. Meanwhile, in his sea of consciousness, a vast amount of red rays charged towards the milky-white spiritual force and encircled it, temporarily isolating it from external influences.

Rumble!*

The secret plane began to shake as if there was a powerful existence attacking the area from outside.

"Alric is attacking the secret plane!" Leylin grit his teeth as the crimson ring on his finger exploded.

The alert spell formation that the Gargamel had set up on the wall had been damaged by Leylin in the past. However, the moment the red rays shone, it began to work once more, and a hidden spiritual force travelled through a special path.

Hualala!*

In an area surrounding the little town, the grass and soil flipped over, and a strange 'corpse' crawled out!

This 'corpse' was shrivelled up and small, and resembled an old woman. Moreover, it had a couple of deformities. Not only were there two extra arms and legs, there was also a young face growing at the back of the head of the old lady.

It looked like a body that was shared by two people.

"The alert system set up by Master has been activated! The only person who can find this place has to be Leylin!"

Wisps of green light shot out of the old woman's eyes. "It has to be him!"

"Leylin? The offering that escaped?" The young woman's face behind the old lady opened her eyes.

"Yes! If not for him, you would have gained a body of your own and not have ended up in this state."

The old woman grit her teeth, a deep-rooted hatred apparent in her eyes.

She was Old Devil, the female Magus who had conducted secret dealings with Leylin in Nightless City. She had tried to use him as an offering to the Gargamel in the secret plane, in order to allow her daughter, Jaye, to regain her physical body.

Unfortunately, due to Leylin's escape, her wish had been realised with a strange method.

Somehow, the Gargamel had forcibly induced half a corporeal body onto the old woman's body, and had placed Jaye's spirit within.

It could be said that Leylin had a played a very big part in causing the two of them to end up in this way.

"I want to kill him!"

Old Devil roared.

"Have you forgotten Master's orders? He's an offering for Master, so only Master is qualified to enjoy him!" Jaye's eyes, behind Old Devil's head, suddenly glazed over as she muttered.

"No! I wouldn't dare offend Lord Gargamel!" The old witch quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

"Then say your prayers, and report the happenings here to the great Lord Gargamel!"

Jaye closed her eyes after speaking, and the next time she opened them, she seemed to have turned into another person. "Mother! My illness seems to be getting worse…"

After implanting the spirit, the Gargamel had mixed in a few things into Jaye's spirit, and had set up a core of consciousness that would oversee the old witch.

Old Devil, whose daughter was being controlled, had no choice but to submit to the Gargamel.

"Oh, Great Gargamel, home of all spirits! You are the master of all, as well as the beginning and ending of all. Please listen to the prayers of your servant…"

The old witch took out something like a communication device and chanted a long verse of prayers from a scripture.

Weng Weng!*

After Old Devil explained the current situation, the communication device began to vibrate.

"Yes, Lord Gargamel! It will possess me!"

The old witch was stricken with fear, but her body involuntarily knelt to the ground—after the modifications, her body was now no longer her own.

A powerful spirit that was brimming with evil thoughts used a special method to rush out of the communication device and possessed the old witch's body.

Old Devil's body trembled violently, her eyes rolled back, and white foam frothed at her mouth.

Finally, her body was wrapped up in a black spiritual body and turned into a large, black, human figure.

On the figure's face, there was a mask of a devil's skull with a horn on it, which looked immensely strange.

Chi chi!*

The Gargamel that had possessed Old Devil's body made a sound and charged towards the secret plane.

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Teleportation

"Oh? A unique, diseased spiritual force, and spiritual power full of hatred and resentment! You are a Gargamel, the main cause of the plague in the west!"

The rank 3 light Magus, Alric, immediately identified the Gargamel.

Chi chi!* What came in response was a loud roar from the Gargamel.

The human figure with a bone mask waved his cape, and a great number of crazed and indistinct spirits pounced towards Alric, many of which began to self detonate in mid-air.

Rumble!* The power of the explosion of spirits brought with it toxins of an ancient plague, causing Alric's face to change as he staggered backwards.

"Light of Saint's Glory!" He shouted, like a bishop not at all afraid of death, his face radiating with a dazzling light.

A large amount of milky-white, divine light was produced from Alric's body, and the silhouette of a large building that commanded respect appeared behind him.

The moment these spirits met with the sacred light, black gases emerged from their bodies, and their crazed expressions became peaceful.

Afterwards, with their faces full of tranquility and smiles, they threw themselves towards the building behind Alric.

"It really is the Gargamel, with a body constructed of resentment!"

The light Magus roared, and like a madman, rammed into the huge figure.

The divine, milky white cleansing light and the black power of loathing offset each other.

……

At this moment, Leylin was currently placing a black, magic crystal into an energy slot.

Rumble!* The teleportation spell formation came to life, rings of light brightening and four energy balls that represented Earth, Fire, Wind and Water hovering on top of the four stone pillars. The red, yellow, green, and blue lights came together, sparkling brilliantly all this while.

"I never expected the rank 3 Magus to come so quickly! Luckily, I made some preparations…"

Leylin looked at the spatial passage that was forming, and heaved a long sigh of relief.

He had anticipated that the rank 3 Magus would follow him. Afterall, every once in a while, the rank 3 Magus would use the mark to detect his position, not giving Leylin the slightest chance to rest or remove the mark.

To give himself more time, Leylin immediately thought of the Gargamel.

It had obviously remembered Leylin, and had determined that Leylin would definitely return to the secret plane. Hence, it had set up a secret alerting spell formation at the entrance.

However, with Leylin's powers of detection, this was very obvious, and the spell formation had been temporarily damaged and sealed by him.

Leylin's previous actions had completely activated the alerting spell formation and had drawn the Gargamel here, which would give him more time.

Since the rank 3 Magus was from the light Magi alliance, how could it just let the Gargamel, a body formed from resentment, go? In addition, the Gargamel was directly responsible for the recent huge plague in the west.

From the looks of it, everything was going according to plan.

A pitch black spatial passageway that emitted silver rays of light was constructed from nothingness on top of the spell formation.

"I need to leave this place, and I don't know when I'll be able to return!"

Leylin turned back to look at this region, suddenly feeling reluctant to leave.

No matter what, this was the place that he had grown up in. The memories of this place had already been branded into his heart.

If the other side was a place with terrible conditions, and if the rank 3 Magus was unable to find this place, Leylin might even make use of the teleportation spell formation on the other end and return. However, it was evident that this was no longer possible.

Leylin had no idea how long it would take for him to use his own strength to return instead of using the teleportation spell formation.

"Goodbye, south coast!" Leylin murmured.

Rumble!*

Just as he put one foot into the teleportation passageway, a rumble sounded out, and everything around him began to shake, as if there was a magnitude 10 earthquake.

Huala!*

The roof of the secret room was torn open, and boundless amounts of sacred light flooded in.

"Leylin! Don't even think of running!" Alric roared, bearing terrifying injuries from spirits detonating themselves on his body.

The Gargamel was an ancient being after all, and its might even reached the thresholds of the level of a Morning Star Magus.

Though its power had not fully recovered and it was merely using a borrowed body, it was still able to cause some trouble for Alric.

"An ancient teleportation spell formation?"

Upon seeing the spell formation with its four, glimmering, coloured lights, he shouted.

As a rank 3 Magus, he had lived a few centuries. How could he not know what an ancient teleportation spell formation represented?

That signified another continent with endless resources and boundless benefits!

"Stay here!" Alric's eyes turned red as he approached the ancient teleportation spell formation. He could give up on anything for access to this teleportation spell formation. He roared, two large arms made of sacred light grabbing towards Leylin.

However, Leylin merely gazed at Alric coldly, and two words came out of his mouth. "Too late!"

Rumble!*

A layer of Kemoyin's Scales covered Leylin's body, and with a huge leap, the silverish spatial passageway swallowed him.

Tss tss!* After teleporting one person, all the energy of the spell formation was sucked dry, and the various rays of light dimmed. The passageway disappeared.

"No…" Seeing the spatial passageway, which was gradually closing like a beast's mouth, Alric shouted.

Whoosh!* He appeared in front of the teleportation spell formation, fishing out a high-grade energy crystal and throwing it into the energy slot.

"Quickly! Activate!"

Though Alric did not know the Turin Language, he still had other methods. Under the solidified milky-white holy rays that wrapped up the spell formation, the spell formation began to work.

With large amounts of effort on Alric's end, the spell formation worked at twice the speed that it had with Leylin.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!" However, Alric was still not satisfied, and kept inserting his immense spiritual force into the spell formation.

He knew very well that the moment Leylin reached his destination, he would immediately destroy the spell formation at the other side. When that happened, they would be on two different continents, and his revenge for his son, as well as the benefits from the teleportation spell formation, would come to naught.

All he needed now was a little bit of time!

With the urging of Alric, a rank 3 Magus, the spell formation worked quickly, and rings of energy constantly ascended.

Once again, a pitch black passageway opened up!

"Exactly! That's how it should be!" Alric mumbled, eyes full of excitement as he watched the spatial passageway begin to open.

Weng!* *Bang!*

However, just as it was about to completely open, the teleportation spell formation suddenly halted, the lights turning dim and the space cracking. The passageway then disappeared.

This situation meant that Leylin had already destroyed the spell formation on the other end!

"Damn it!" Alric roared, milky-white holy light that could be seen by the naked eye emitting from his body and destroying the items in the secret room around him.

Next, a light beam struck the teleportation spell formation, turning it into a huge crater!

Without the spell formation on the other side, this spell formation was merely a decoration. He obviously wouldn't leave any chances for Leylin to make use of this spell formation again.

"Despicable! Repulsive! Damn it!" Alric yelled, the pain of being on the verge of gaining something only to lose it right after feeling like a poisonous snake devouring his soul.

Chi chi!*

At this moment, with the wails of spirits that had departed unjustly, the secret plane of the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect began to shake.

A pair of translucent, black arms broke through the hinderance of the secret plane, as if tearing through cloth, and charged towards the centre of the secret plane.

"The main body of the Gargamel has actually reached rank 3…"

Alric's face turned grim. Without even having the opportunity to lament over letting Leylin go just like that, his clothes began to flutter despite there being no wind, and he flew in mid-air, confronting the Gargamel.

……

After Leylin entered the spatial passageway, regret was apparent in his expression.

The immense spatial power was like several hundred tons of seawater pressing against him from all directions and tearing his body apart.

Kemoyin's Scales constantly produced crisp explosive sounds, as if about to crumble under this power.

If that happened, Leylin, who no longer had an innate defensive spell, would turn into minced meat in the flow of space.

"I miscalculated! I overestimated my own body's capabilities and the defence of Kemoyin's Scales!"

Leylin's expression was serious, "This is a spatial passageway connecting two continents. The pressure within is something that not even rank 2 Magi are able to withstand. There must have been some method used in ancient times to avoid this, but I haven't found it yet…"

"This can't go on!" Leylin saw his Kemoyin's Scales contracting, so he produced a red test tube from his pouch and smashed it.

Puff!* A defensive layer formed from the red potion appeared on the surface of his body, and it began to vibrate for a while; after only three seconds, it shattered.

"A middle-grade defensive potion can only withstand this for three seconds?" Leylin was expressionless as he produced another potion.

As a Potioneering Master, he had tens of different types of defensive potions in his spatial pouch, which would be enough to last him for a long time.

Bang!* The layer formed by the potion cracked, and was then quickly replaced by another layer of defence.

Leylin constantly went through his reserves to withstand this.

Finally, the potions were completely used up and a large pressure was once again put on Kemoyin's Scales.

"Ah…" Leylin shouted in a low voice, spiritual force and magic constantly being consumed as incomplete black runes that formed a full-body shield was produced from his scales.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

After being in a deadlock for a period of time, Leylin's spiritual force was exhausted and the defence of the Kemoyin's Scales shattered into pieces. A tremendous pressure began to tear Leylin's body apart.

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Injury

Under the pressure of the space tearing, the sounds of bones cracking were constantly produced from Leylin's body, and fresh blood spurted out like a stream.

[Alert! Alert! Host body is currently in critical condition! Estimated time until cells completely fall apart from the pull of space: 8 seconds!]

The A.I. Chip projected a paragraph of red words in front of Leylin's eyes.

"This is happening even with the sturdiness of my body! What method did ancient Magi use to deal with the power of space?"

Leylin's expression suddenly turned sinister, his veins all popping out and his eyes turning red.

Just as the A.I. Chip counted down to the last second, the silver rays of light dissipated to reveal a pitch-black cave.

Leylin's mind jolted and he rushed towards the cave.

Bo!* As if penetrating a shapeless water membrane, Leylin arrived in a physical world, and the immense pressure from space vanished.

"That was close!" It was all a blur in front of Leylin's eyes. With all his strength, he drew a red line and destroyed the runel on the spell formation beneath his feet, and went into a dead faint.

Drip! Drip!*

The stalactite above him in the cave constantly dripped light red droplets that fell on the ground, producing a rhythmic sound.

Leylin's eyelids flickered and he opened his eves.

"Ugh!" He held onto his forehead, feeling the pain that was all over his body.

"A.I. Chip! Check my current stats!"

Leylin immediately spoke inside.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 15 (21.1), Agility: 4 (14.4), Vitality: 19 (27.9), Spiritual force: 0.01 (104.3), Magic power: 0 (104) (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Status: Serious injuries all over body, exhaustion of spiritual force!]

The A.I. Chip quickly intoned. At the sight of his condition, Leylin could only force a wry smile.

As he had underestimated the dangers of spatial teleportation, he had not made enough preparations. This trip through the spatial passageway had almost cost him his life.

Not only had his overall stats decreased, even his spiritual force had been nearly completely exhausted.

This state would probably spell the end for regular Magi. However, Leylin had a shocking vitality, and was even able to maintain his consciousness.

"I really got seriously hurt! Alric, I will return one day…"

A cold glint appeared in Leylin's eyes, and he shifted his gaze to his waist.

Seeing that the black leather pouch was still there, a look of relief appeared on his face.

This spatial leather pouch was a high-grade magic artifact. Though it did not have any offensive powers, its own defence was extremely startling, and with the spatial runes on the surface protecting it, it was not the least bit damaged

Thankfully this was the case, if not all of Leylin's assets would have vanished into thin air.

"Any regular Magus lucky enough to survive my injuries would also require a large amount of time to restore their strength. Their strength might even go down a rank from the injuries!"

Leylin checked the state of his body. Though there were serious injuries all around, he could feel a cold stream of air full of life and vigour being sent out from his heart. With his blood being pumped to all parts of his body, the stream of air within began to help heal his injuries. Though this process was very slow, the good thing was that this was a continuous process.

"The regenerative abilities of a warlock's bloodline are this powerful!" A hint of joy was seen in Leylin's eyes, "With the potions that I currently possess, I can even further increase the speed of my healing…"

With this thought, he expended a great deal of effort to raise the only limb that he could move, his right arm, and took out a red healing potion from the pouch. He used his teeth to remove the cork and, began to drink in huge gulps.

Rumble!* A pink layer of light encompassed Leylin.

Due to the effects of the layer, the horrifying injuries on his body began to recover at a frightening speed.

Ka-cha! Crack!* From Leylin's body, the sounds of bones hitting each other could constantly be heard.

The muscles on his face constantly twitched, and he huffed through his nose; even his breathing was becoming more serious.

After a few minutes of this, the pink layer on Leylin's body dissipated. *Pak!* Leylin soared into the sky, and from his previous position of half-sitting on the spell formation, he was now standing upright.

"All of my external injuries have now been healed. Though the internal injuries are a lot more troublesome, they wont affect simple movements!"

Leylin exercised his four limbs, did a few motions that were standard in Knight drills, and furrowed his brows.

"No! With my body, I can only withstand the movements equivalent to that of a Preparatory Knight. If not, it would affect the recovery of my internal injuries…"

In other words, before his injuries were completely healed, Leylin could only use the strength and speed of a Preparatory Knight.

Leylin touched his skin, retrieving armour from his pouch and putting it on.

His Magus robes had been torn apart by the pressure of the space, and they had long since turned into what looked like a beggar's rags, hanging from his body while being full of holes. Leylin simply tore his old clothes off.

After inspecting his body, Leylin focused his attention on the sea of consciousness within.

The state within was even worse. As a large amount of spiritual force had been used, his sea of consciousness even showed signs of drying up. The crimson colour had turned dimmer, and there wasn't even a hint of silver spiritual force.

Leylin's expression immediately turned grim, as even fine cracks had appeared on the walls of his sea of consciousness. If his sea of consciousness shattered, it wouldn't be as simple as falling in rank.

Upon seeing a little white ray still stuck in a corner in the sea of consciousness, Leylin's face turned even darker.

This was the mark that Alric had left on Jajone's body. After Leylin had killed Jajone, this mark had transferred itself to Leylin's sea of consciousness, sticking like a piece of sticky candy. No matter what Leylin did, it just would not disappear.

The only way to deal with this sort of mark was to use large amounts of spiritual force and slowly wear it down. Though it was from a rank 3 Magus, they were currently a huge distance apart, and without boosts from the original Magus, the mark would not be able to persist under Leylin's spiritual force. However, this required a lot of time, which Leylin did not have.

Now, however, it seemed like this was the time to deal with this thorn in his side!

Leylin sat down cross-legged, recalling the core information regarding the high grade meditation technique, Kemoyin's Pupil. "Meditation in your spirit. With your eyes, make eye contact with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent and gain its strength!"

The daily training of meditation techniques was something every Magus had to do. Every time Leylin used Kemoyin's Pupil, adjusting the frequency of his spiritual force until it was the most compatible with the operation of the meditation technique, he was able to penetrate through time and space and see the ancient, terrifying amber vertical pupils of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!

This state was a phenomenon written about in the Book of Giant Serpent, which only occurred after one had studied it to a very profound level.

As Leylin meditated to a deeper level, the crimson rays in his sea of consciousness gradually grew stronger, and traces of silver spiritual force welled from the bottom from his sea of consciousness, refilling the dried up spring with new vitality.

In the dark cave, spots of dark red light fluttered in the air like fireflies, and entered Leylin's body. This entire process was silent, but the terrifying apparition of a giant serpent appeared behind Leylin. The huge body kept rotating, becoming more and more substantial physically.

After one round of meditating, Leylin had regained half of his spiritual force, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"As expected of a high-grade meditation technique! Whether in terms of rate of improvement or recovery, it's the best on the south coast! It's a pity that there are only three levels…"

Worry appeared on Leylin's face

Though Kemoyin's Pupil was a high-grade meditation technique, of all the inheritance he had gained from the Great Magus Serholm, there were only three levels of information.

The level of a high-grade meditation technique and a Magus' rank corresponded to one another. In other words, unless he could find the rest of the information regarding Kemoyin's Pupil, his spiritual force would be at a standstill due to the lack of a meditation technique.

"Based on the information that the Great Magus Serholm provided, the second half of Kemoyin's Pupil should be on the central continent. Where exactly am I right now?"

Leylin stood up, surveying his surroundings

"I'll go out and take a look! Hopefully, this is the central continent! Before anything else… A.I. Chip, are there any remedies for the damage to my sea of consciousness and the mark by the rank 3 Magus?"

Leylin enquired in his mind.

Large amounts of data, images and graphs flashed past, and the A.I. Chip worked at an extremely high speed, quickly giving an answer.

[Based on Host body's requirements, as well as comprehensive calculations of current conditions, this is the best solution: solidify large amounts of spiritual force in Host body's sea of consciousness, until all damage is healed and the mark completely disappears.

"Solidify large amounts of spiritual force?"

Leylin was surprised. This meant that before all his injuries were recovered, he would always need to solidify a portion of his spiritual force in his sea of consciousness, and would not be able to use that part at all.

In that case, his overall strength would largely diminish.

"How much do I need to solidify?" Leylin glanced at the cracks that were constantly expanding in his sea of consciousness, face falling while he asked cool-headedly.

[Requires 51.2% of Host's spiritual force!] The A.I. Chip quickly answered.

In other words, before completely taking care of all damages, I can only use the strength of a rank 1 Magus?"

Leylin stroked his chin.

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Barren

"To heal the damage done to my sea of consciousness, as well as dispel the mark from Alric, half of my spiritual force can't be used during this period, right?"

Leylin stroked his chin while contemplating.

A moment later, he decided. "Let's start!"

Weng Weng!*

The moment he gave the order, silver spiritual force in his sea of consciousness clung on to the nearest cracks at the edges, and then crystallised and solidified!

The silver crystals covered about half of the sea of consciousness, and within the crystal, the milky-white spot was frozen, like a little worm frozen in amber.

After solidifying about half of his spiritual force, Leylin realised that the fine cracks in his sea of consciousness had stopped expanding after having been reinforced by the solidified spiritual force. He heaved a huge sigh of relief.

This way, he had completely dealt with the troublesome parts of his body. The price he had to pay for this was that he could only use the strength of a rank 1 Magus.

After stabilising his injuries, Leylin was now in the mood to survey his surroundings.

It was rather dim, with some moss that gave off some faint light, which allowed him to see just a few metres away. Everything else was just pitch black.

"This must be somewhere within a cave! I wonder what direction leads to the outside…"

Leylin gave a long sigh and took another look at the teleportation spell formation.

The spell formation here was the same as that in the Ancient Spirit Slayer Sect's secret plane. However, a rune at one of the corners had already been destroyed by Leylin.

Leylin believed that if he was the rank 3 Magus on the other end if he was not going to personally keep watch, he would destroy the spell formation at the other area. Hence, this teleportation spell formation would not be able to be used for a long period of time.

On one end, the set up by the Magi of the Spirit Slayer Sect was very simple. There was only the spell formation in the cave, and other than that, there was a very long and narrow passage that seemed to be carved out from the stone walls.

"Night Vision!"

Leylin used a support-type acolyte level spell on himself.

A black glint flashed in his eyes, and darkness no longer hindered his sight and he took his surroundings in.

"The dark elemental particles here are very dense. It seems to be more than in the south coast!" While using this spell Leylin could tell the large difference between the two continents.

If it was said that the concentration of dark elemental particles in the air in the south coast was 1, it would be at least 1.5 or even up to 2 here.

"A.I. Chip! Test the concentration of elemental particles in the air and make a comparison with that in the south coast!"

[Mission established. Beginning collection of data. Generating comparative diagrams.]

Quickly enough, the A.I. Chip transmitted two different pie charts to Leylin.

In the pie chart, the ratio of colours that represented different elemental particles had various percentages. These were all presented in front of Leylin clearly.

"On the right is the average data found on the south coast, while the one on the left is the newest data!"

Leylin compared the differences between the two.

The newest set of data revealed that the concentration of dark, shadow and death, as well as other negative energy particles, rose to about two times that of in the south coast.

The positive energy particles such as that of light, plant and life were a little lower.

"Also, the concentration of earth elemental particles is quite high, while fire and water are quite meagre."

Leylin touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"In other words, there is approximately the same concentration of elemental particles here as in the south coast, though the composition is a little different. The concentration of negative elemental particles is almost equal to that of a small scale secret plane, while the positive elemental particles are only like that of the Chernobyl Islands…"

Leylin made a few conjectures and took a few large steps forwards, entering the long and narrow stone passage.

This passage was quite long, and only after ten or so minutes of strolling did he reach the end.

At the end of the passage was a large stone door.

Calling it a door might even be a stretch. From what Leylin could tell, it was just a large rounded rock that was blocking the exit.

Through the chinks in the rock, Leylin could hear the faint sounds of wind entering.

"It's best to keep this stone door. When I need this teleportation spell formation in the future, I can still come back!"

With a thought, he used a rank 1 spell. "Shadow Stealth!"

Black rays surrounded Leylin's body, and within the rays, he started to become transparent.

The effect of Shadow Stealth was that the user would temporarily become hard to see, and would be able to hide within tiny shadows. He could pass through most physical objects, but in this mode, he would be unable to attack, else this stealth mode would disappear. Area of effect attacks using energy or sound waves were also the bane of this spell.

Now, however, this was just meant to pass through a rock, so it was a simple task.

The faint image that Leylin turned into easily passed through the shadows of the cracks on the rock and he reached the outside.

"Hah! This is…"

Leylin looked at the view outside, and was stunned for a few moments.

He was standing on a little hill formed from large rocks, and surrounding him was a vast plain. There were also a large number of shrubs.

A gloomy darkness encompassed the whole area, making it so that there was no light at all. The sky was dim and looked as if it would collapse at any moment.

Vastness, gloominess, a deathly stillness! This was Leylin's first impression about the place.

With the help of his night vision, Leylin did not have any trouble looking at his surroundings.

"This plant looks quite strange!" Leylin picked up a dried up twig on the ground.

"It has no leaves and at most, just has some thorns. On top of that, it seems like all the plants I can see share this characteristic!"

Leylin grabbed forward with his right hand, a little mole-like creature was captured from the ground. It constantly made 'chik chik' sounds.

"Its eyes are small and don't seem to serve much of a purpose. It also looks like it has albinism! This is a mutation from not being able to get sunlight for a long period of time!"

Leylin mumbled to himself, clearing up his doubts.

Pak!* He tossed the mole aside and pushed himself into the sky using a dull, red light.

Leylin kept ascending, and he could feel pressure on his head. Finally, after who knows how long, Leylin reached the end.

This was a large rock rampart. It had a metallic sheen to it, which made it look like the canopy of heaven.

"So the top of this place is the Earth's crust!"

Leylin descended slowly, his expression still revealing his shock, "This is a subterranean world!"

……

On a plain made entirely out of rocks and moss.

Two grey boar-like animals that were a lot smaller used their thick and coarse snouts to dig into the earth, searching for edible food.

Xiu Xiu!* Two black arrows were suddenly released, and the sharp arrowheads penetrated the back of these two little beasts, pinning them to the ground.

"It's not a bad harvest today. There are two grey boars! I can change the menu!"

On a hill, not far away, Leylin saw this scene, and joy was present in his smile.

Just ten or so minutes later, he used a wooden frame and made a fire. On top, the grey boars that had been skinned and washed were being roasted, a little grease rolling off the boiling hot skin. There was also an aroma that could make anyone drool mixed with the scent of pine wood, and Leylin's forefinger couldn't help but twitch.

"It's been around a month since I exited from the large rock hill where the teleportation spell formation is."

After gnawing away at an entire grey boar, Leylin sighed contently and kept the other one for later.

After a month of wandering around, he now had an idea of how barren this subterranean world was.

Here, it was possible to not see any life despite walking for days, and only moss and bugs were tenaciously surviving.

The pig-like creature that Leylin named "grey boar" was the biggest animal he had seen thus far. It was also the tastiest.

At this thought, Leylin couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

While the precious spatial leather pouch was extremely spacious, there was a limit to how much could be stored within. It was already full of precious items that Leylin had gained through various methods, the value of which was something even rank 3 Magus would be envious of.

Unfortunately, there was no good food or wine at all. Compared to precious materials, their value was much too low and it was not worth being stored within.

Hence, Leylin found himself living the life of a barbarian.

Water was not an issue. He was a Magus, and with a water elemental spell, he could easily produce large amounts of fresh water. If it was food, however, he had little in the way of options.

Because he was a rank 2 Warlock, it was fine if he didn't eat for ten days or half a month, but if it was a full month, it wasn't possible for him not to eat at all.

In addition, his living environment in his previous life, and even now, were all not unsatisfactory. He was used to having three meals a day, and even had some stringent requirements regarding the content of his meals.

Currently, after a long search, Leylin could somewhat find a few starchy plants and roots that he could consume. He might also be able to have some birds or berries.

Leylin was beginning to get tired of these meagre meals.

This boar-like creature that he had named "grey boar" was, by far, the tastiest out of everything else that he had seen here up until now.

"Damn it! I hope this isn't a completely barren land."

After walking for a full month, besides this desert-area, Leylin had also seen some plains. Leylin began to have some suspicions, as even large animals were rarely seen.

Honestly speaking, as he was accustomed to sunlight, Leylin had never realised how precious it was.

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Assistance Required

Leylin had previously seen information regarding the resources of the subterranean world in an ancient book.

Legend has it that the ancient Magus World was only a small part of the surface of the earth, and before the ancient Magi's focus had switched to the other worlds, their goal had been the subterranean world!

The ancient Magi all wielded formidable power; even the sun and the moon would lose their splendor when put in front of these Magi. Many of the natives of the subterranean world had been subdued by them, and these Magi had then exploited layers and layers of the subterranean world to obtain endless wealth and resources.

It was recorded that the ancient Magi had exploited the 7 layers of the subterranean world!

It was said that the further down the layers one visited, the more powerful the ethnic race of that layer would be, and that at the core of the earth, there was an extremely terrifying female existence.

But these did not stop the ancient Magi from venturing further, and finally, the whole subterranean world had acknowledged them as their conqueror. This was all a part of the golden age of the ancient Magi.

Later, the still-dissatisfied Magi shifted their attention to different worlds, and conquered world after world until they ran into that extremely powerful world!

After what was known as the Final Confrontation, although that opposing world did not end up getting any benefits, neither did the Magus World—they deteriorated instead. Even the passage that led to the subterranean world had been destroyed by this war. Since then, the subterranean world had only appeared in legends.

At the least, within the entirety of the southern coast, Leylin had not seen any of the subterranean world's life-forms, nor had he heard of any passages to the subterranean world.

"From the previously gathered information and the sights seen, this must be the subterranean world; I just don't know which layer this is! However, based on the dangerous life-form that approached, it ought to be, at most, the third layer, else I would have ran into many dangerous, high-energy life-forms. Also, the probability of the life-forms I ran into being from the first or second layer is really large…"

Leylin kept on pondering this over.

Although he was uneasy that this place was a barren region, Leylin continued forth. The recent appearance of the grey boar supplied him with huge confidence to proceed on his journey.

While walking the whole journey, Leylin also made a record of his surroundings.

At the location of the ancient magic spell, which Leylin had named "Giant Stone Hills," the signs of life were so weak that, at most, one could see only moss and some insects, and nothing else.

As Leylin went about his journey, the signs of life gradually increased, and later, he saw something like bat-like birds.

He would occasionally see the grey boars and as he travelled further, the rate of encountering them grew higher.

Thus, Leylin was certain. He had already walked away from the life-restricting region and come to the outside world.

[Beep! Discovered energy waves! The estimate is that these waves are the aftermath of level zero magic. Direction: 15 degrees east, at 3,123 meters.]

Now, the A.I. Chip had issued a message.

"Huh?!" Leylin's thoughts shook: "Finally, there are some traces of an organism with energy!"

He quickly packed up and soon went in the direction from which the energy waves were emitted.

Although there was still a grave injury upon his person, and his sea of consciousness was even more injured due to him solidifying large amounts of spiritual force, he could still display the approximate might of a level 1 Magus. However, he did not pay any attention to this small point, and rushed to the scene of those energy waves.

What appeared in Leylin's sight was the scene of three males and two females confronting a high-energy organism.

These five people seemed to be a standard small squadron. Two males dressed in leather, who were at the very front, served as human shields, constantly swinging their huge iron swords. They, at the very least, had the power of a Grand Knight.

The other three wore gray robes that looked like what the magician apprentices of the southern coast wore, but the style of these robes was very old-fashioned; they were simple and unadorned.

"There are humans here! And they are acolytes!" Leylin inwardly felt elated at this prospect.

What the five acolytes were confronting was an organism that was similar to the huge grey board, but with a physique that was almost a dozen times bigger, and 3 pairs of huge, crescent-moon-shaped teeth beneath its snout. Hard fur grew all over its body, and it was entirely covered in pine resin, mud, and other forms of muck. It formed thick lumps that, like a battle tank that had donned armor on. The level 0 magic spell that had been previously used by those apprentices seemed to have only left burn marks in the region; it had been incapable of breaking through even the outermost defences.

"Hoo hoo…" Two puffs of white gas were emitted from the nose of this organism that looked like a suckling pig. After pawing the ground, it suddenly charged, and its whole body was like a derailed train as it ran towards those two Grand Knights.

"Ah!"

The floor shook, causing one of those Grand Knights to lose his footing. Soon after, he slipped and was sent flying by this huge boar-like beast. Upon having been gored upon his waist and back by the organism's huge tusks, blood poured out from his wounds like spring water.

Seeing this scene, the other Grand Knight let out a loud shout and immediately retreated, thus exposing those three apprentices.

With the Grand Knight no longer impeding it, the boar fiercely bared its teeth at those apprentices with a blood-thirsty glint in its eyes.

The two female apprentices were scared, and kept retreating backwards. *Thud! Thud!* The two of them tripped on something and fell down, expressions of despair coloring their faces.

The remaining male apprentice displayed a gentlemanly bravery, quickly appearing in front of these women with an expression of firm resolve. Still shouting something, he lifted his hand, from which small fireballs were emitted and aimed at the middle of the nose of that big-headed boar.

Pat! Pat* The big boar's nose was blackened, but that did not slow down its assault speed by even a bit. On the contrary, the boar seemed to have been infuriated by that male apprentice, and its charging speed even seemed to have increased a little.

That male apprentice smiled helplessly, and then turned his head toward the two female disciples behind him and muttered something; his demeanor gave one the feeling that this youth was not afraid of dying.

Hoo hoo!* The wild boar got closer and closer, and the three apprentices could now see clearly the blood vessels in the big boar's eyes and the the thick pores below its fur.

Of course, what they would find very hard to forget was the cold radiance of the three pairs of snow-white, fierce, crescent-moon-shaped teeth of the boar.

"Shadow Binding!"

At that moment, Leylin suddenly made his appearance, and several tentacles made of shadow extended outwards from below the belly of the wild boar, and transformed into several hands that firmly dragged the boat by its front hooves.

Peng!* As if a magnitude 9 earthquake had suddenly occurred, that boar, which was charging at a high speed, suddenly fell down while making a huge noise; even the sounds of bones breaking could be heard from its body.

Soon after, the three apprentices saw a youth in leather armor walking out from behind the fallen boar.

Several black, shadowy ropes trussed up that fallen boar, not even leaving the smallest of weaknesses in the bindings.

"Are you alright?" asked Leylin, with a gentle smile on his face.

Those three apprentices saw Leylin, their expressions those of shock, and they opened their mouths to say, "gnkmfsk……"

The smile on Leylin's face drooped, and then he sighed. "This is really not the common language of the continent!"

What Leylin had just spoken in was the common language of the southern coast magicians, but what these 3 apprentices had spoken was not a language that Leylin recognised.

"This language's endings sound a bit familiar to the Metiya language, but the syllables in between resemble the language of the highlands…"

Leylin did not feel surprised in the least about the differences in the language. After all, after the ancient era, the subterranean world had been isolated from the earth's surface. It would be strange if the language was still similar.

"Hello! I am a nomad. Can you tell me what is this place?"

Leylin immediately switched to another language—this time it was the ancient Byron language!

The ancient Byron language brought with a strange power; it held power over rules and regulations. It could draw upon the power of the energy particles within the atmosphere, and was the foundation of all magic spells.

Thus, the ancient Byron language was also a language that all magicians were required to learn.

Whether it was the surface world or the subterranean world, the ancient Byron language was passed down from the ancient Magi, and there would not be even the tiniest bit of disparity in its usage.

Sure enough, upon hearing Leylin asking in the ancient Byron language, those 3 apprentices immediately reacted, and finally, that male apprentice took the lead to reply, "Respected Sir! Hello! This here is the Woody Wastelands of the Twilight Zone."

He gave a respectful salute. Although Leylin's actions were suspicious and the langauge that he initially used to speak was very different from their own language, from the way Leylin had easily subdued this huge, 6-toothed boar that had almost caused a complete wipe for their team, it was obvious that the other party's strength was superior to theirs.

This was the wilderness, where the strong preyed on the weak. If they got on bad terms with Leylin, then they would be killed, and no one would come to know of it. Thus, this male apprentice's mannerisms were very deferential.

"Twilight Zone?" Leylin frowned, and the A.I. Chip quickly searched through the storage database but did not find any details related to this.

"You might need this!" Leylin pointed at the Grand Knight who had been sent flying, and threw a blood clotting medicine towards them.

"Thank you!" Those two fallen female apprentices also stood up, and one of them immediately clutched the medicine and smeared it on that Grand Knight's injury. After hesitating for while, she bowed to Leylin.

Hiss! Hiss!*

At that time, a snake formed entirely of black gas slithered forward and spat outan armoured Grand Knight who had lost consciousness from within its mouth.

"This one is also your partner, right? I had also conveniently picked him up."

Leylin pointed at the Grand Knight who had just been spat out, and those three apprentices, who had been scared by the sudden appearance of that huge black snake, retreated many steps.

"This coward!" Leylin heard that female apprentice mutter, but he only smiled indifferently.

After that, he asked, "Oh, by the way, do you know which towns are close to here and where the Magi's Bazaar is?"

These 3 apprentices looked each other in the eyes, and then that male apprentice, seeing Leylin's agreeable demeanor and speech, gathered his courage and stepped forward as he said, "The closest town from here is Little Bert Town in the west, and its distance is one and a half days from here. About the Magi's' bazaar… the official Magi's meeting point is located only in the capital city of the Twilight Zone…."

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Treasure

As if baffled by the kind smile on Leylin's face, this acolyte mustered up his courage and asked, "My lord! Are you… perhaps, not from here? May this humble servant know what your name is? I… I am Aaron!"

"Me? I'm obviously not from around here!" Leylin laughed as he looked at these 3 acolytes.

"Though there are still a lot of things I'd like to ask you, I suddenly realised that it would be much faster if I were to see it for myself…"

Due to the look that Leylin was giving them, the 3 acolytes began to tremble, as if they were being stared at by some predator.

"Let's go!" Aaron yelled, getting in front of the two female acolytes and chanting incantations.

"What a joke! You're too slow!" Leylin shook his head, and three black streams of air shot out and entered the foreheads of the three acolytes.

They turned dizzy, and without being able to even make a sound, they fainted.

Leylin approached the male acolyte called Aaron, his right hand directly pressing on the top of his head. The acolyte's eyes turned jet black, and even his pupils vanished.

Large amounts of images and voices were like a video, replaying in front of Leylin's eyes. The A.I. Chip worked at full speed, gathering all the information it thought to be important and organised them.

This was a spell that was like searching through one's spirit. It allowed Leylin to look through the memories of lower ranked Magi.

However, this spell was not actually all that useful. It was only effective against beings weaker than official Magi, and the targets couldn't be resisting.

When Leylin had first seen this technique in the library at the Four Seasons Garden, he had merely gotten the A.I. Chip to record it in passing. Unexpectedly, he was able to find a use for it here.

Though it was a simple task for him to sneak into this little team and gain information with all the methods he had, Leylin couldn't be bothered to do all that. He didn't want to waste time either.

In addition, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it, there were many differences between magicians of the south coast and this subterranean world. This wasn't something that could be easily covered up with acting. Rather than being considered suspicious when the time came, it would be better to do something about it right now.

[Gathering information regarding subterranean language, named the 'Twilight Language'. Storing in database…] The A.I. Chip first collected information regarding the language. It would organise these data and transmit it to Leylin's memories. After some practice, Leylin would be able to quickly grasp the language used in this world.

Next was information regarding the geography and factions here.

Though Aaron was weak and had never left the Twilight Zone, his memories had been enough to allow Leylin to gain a better understanding of this subterranean world.

After he had gathered all of the valuable information, a cold glint flashed in Leylin's eyes and he forcefully began to modify Aaron's memories, removing all traces of his existence and the happenings today. He left behind the false memories of a high-ranked Magus with unclear facial features that had suddenly appeared and had helped them subdue the Six-Toothed Giant Boar.

These acolytes did not have anything Leylin found useful, and he did not want to kill anymore.

In a situation where he would not suffer any negative consequences, Leylin didn't mind doing some good deeds.

After all, he wasn't some homicidal maniac who killed people for the fun of it.

However this method of altering memories carried a very high risk. Leylin paid no heed to Aaron's original memories and forcefully did it. If there were no aftereffects, his luck must be unbelievably good.

Afterwards, Leylin repeated the process on the other four.

Though the information he gained was about the same, it created a rather complete set of information.

"This Six-Toothed Giant Boar shall be your compensation!" Leylin looked at the acolytes who were unconscious on the ground and laughed. The black ropes that bound the boar suddenly tightened, and splat! Blood flew in all directions!

A long time after Leylin left, Aaron woke up while clutching his head, "Ugh… my head hurts… where am I?"

Next, fragmented memories entered his mind, scenes appearing in his eyes, "We met a Six-Toothed Giant Boar. That guy, Blake, actually ran away first! We were lucky that a lord who was passing by saved us."

Aaron looked at the corpse of the huge Six-Toothed Giant Boar, he whooped with excitement, "How many magic crystals would such a large amount raw material fetch? I've struck the jackpot!"

Hah hah!*

Fine streams of air streaked past Leylin's ears, as the scenery around him became long images, before further distorting and forming into streaks of light.

Leylin hurried towards Potter Town, recalling the information he had gained from the five.

This was indeed the underworld, and was the first layer, which was the closest to the continent on the earth's surface. It was a pity that this was but a small region that was disconnected from the rest of the underworld.

The Twilight Zone. This was the name of this region.

Around the Twilight Zone, if there weren't gathering points for fearful, sinister beasts, there would be a wide expanse of a lava ocean. These dangerous regions isolated the Twilight Zone from the external world, and without the power of a Morning Star Magus, it was impossible to escape from the isolation caused by these regions.

The only pathway that connected it with the external world had long since been abandoned.

Legends had it that thousands of years ago, there were two Morning Star Magi who had engaged in a great battle near the channel. The resulting fluctuations resulted in the crust of the earth collapsing, and causing terrifyingly large rocks that were almost several hundred million tons to thoroughly seal the channel and stop all communications between Twilight Zone and the external world.

It was for this reason that the Twilight Zone instantly turned into an isolated island. Luckily, the Twilight Zone itself was rather large. Based on Leylin's estimations, it was about half the size of the south coast. However, the population was only about four to five thousand. So, the resources were self-sufficient and able to maintain the upkeep till now.

"Based on Aaron's memories, this whole place is called the Twilight Zone, and it can be divided into the East, West, South, North and Central Regions, which makes up five in total. It is governed by zone, and there is no such thing as a kingdom or realm."

From Leylin's perspective, every city here could be said to be an independent power. As land was vast and there were few people, it was no surprise that organisations would flourish and decline quickly. Hence, it was rather chaotic.

Leylin was not interested in battles between mortals. What caught his attention was the information regarding the Magus World here.

In the Twilight Zone, the Magus World here had preserved the traditions from the ancient era, still developing through taking in personal disciples and forming schools of thought.

As for academies or anything of the sort, there was no mention of that in Aaron's memories.

Aaron and those two female acolytes were taught by a single mentor, and the Grand Knight was an assistant that they had employed while they went on this expedition.

However, what caused Leylin the most excitement was the information regarding high-grade meditation techniques in Aaron's memories!

That's right. In Aaron's memories, there were mentions of great amounts of high-grade meditation techniques. His mentor had once even promised that if he proved to have enough potential, he could even apply to obtain the qualifications to get a high-grade meditation technique to train in!

Compared to the situation in the south coast, where large organisations were very strict regarding this matter, Twilight Zone was evidently much more relaxed regarding the restrictions against obtaining high-grade meditation techniques.

These Magi schools of thought set their foundations on different types of high-grade meditation techniques. Basically, all high-ranked Magi a given organisation would train in a single high-grade meditation technique. The earliest schools of thought were formed from a group of Magi who trained in high-grade meditation techniques, and for the better exchange of ideas, had set up their own organisations.

"A high-grade meditation technique!" A flame began to burn in Leylin's heart.

However, he quickly came back to himself. The underworld was the most similar to the ancient era and had received much inheritance from the ancient Magi. In addition, with the isolation of the Twilight Zone, the Magi environment here still retained the style of the ancient era. Hence, inheriting high-grade meditation techniques was not unusual.

"However, from the fact that a school headed by a rank 2 Magus can be considered a large school of thought, the high-grade meditation techniques must not be that effective. If it isn't damaged, there might be specific ingredients that cannot be found here."

In Aaron's memories, the might of the Magi here in general was similar to that on the south coast. Official Magi were highly regarded and rarely seen. Rank 2 Magi were the big shots; perhaps a few cities in the five zones were under the control of rank 2 Magi.

"In general, the Magi here get to encounter even more high-grade meditation techniques. However, since these techniques are the core of every school of thought, besides a few specific people, Magi or acolytes will at most obtain a small part or a simplified version. This was the case for Aaron's meditation technique."

While searching his mind, some memories regarding meditation techniques were naturally recorded by the A.I. Chip.

Through comparisons, Leylin found that the meditation technique Aaron trained in was quite interesting. It had an ancient aura to it, similar to that of Kemoyin's Pupil and Sacred Flame. However the requirements were all lower, and it did not have the ability to really increase any ability or affinity towards elements.

After a careful search through Aaron's memories regarding the meditation technique, Leylin found out that he was training in the high-grade meditation technique from his mentor's school of thought, Aegalus. It was the simplified form of the Core's Flame technique.

This simplified version was a lot more effective in raising spiritual force as compared to the willpower runic meditation techniques that acolytes in the south coast used. After reaching a bottleneck in spiritual force, there was a certain probability of passing through the limits to become an official Magus by using items to assist this process. This probability was a lot higher than those who used Grine Water.

In addition, as he trained in the simplified version of a high-grade meditation technique, there would be no problems if he were to obtain a genuine copy of the technique and train in it. Hence, these simplified high-grade meditation techniques were given out to screen acolytes who were suitable for training in it.

"A treasure trove! The Twilight Zone is a large treasure trove of high-grade meditation techniques!"

Leylin's eyes were suddenly so bright that it was frightening.

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Potter Town

The high-grade meditation technique Leylin trained in was what he had inherited from the Great Magus Serholm: Kemoyin's Pupil.

This high-grade meditation technique had very stringent requirements, as only warlocks with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent could train in it. In addition, there were only three levels for now.

Though the Great Magus Serholm had hinted that there was another part of the central continent, Leylin didn't even know where this central continent was. He wasn't going to have any high expectations.

To give himself a way out, Leylin set up a mission for the A.I. Chip a long time ago—to simulate the second half of Kemoyin's Pupil.

It was a pity that he lacked a database of information regarding high-grade meditation techniques that he could refer to. The A.I. Chip's research was going very slowly, almost akin to running on the spot.

Though Leylin had found the high-grade meditation technique Sacred Flame, which he was quite interested in, it was even more incomplete than the others he had. There was even a whole bunch of residual effects from practicing that technique that caused Leylin to shrink back.

Now, there seemed to be a possibility for him to completely restore these two meditation techniques.

"Based on Aaron's memories, he knows about at least a dozen schools of thought. Even if the high-grade meditation techniques they have aren't complete, based on my abilities, I will still be possible to plunder a few…"

Leylin's eyes shone.

The high-grade meditation techniques here were strictly restricted, so he most probably had to sign some contract in order to enter the school and become a core member in order to receive them. There might even be more strict requirements. However, Leylin was not planning on somehow sneaking in and secretly learning them. He was now a rank 2 warlock, and with the added bonus from his bloodline, his battle power far exceeded that of a regular rank 2 Magus, which was already rarely seen in Twilight Zone. If he used his brains and some methods, ordinary schools would be unable to obstruct him.

In addition, he was quite interested in some special information available here in the subterranean world.

Though the south coast, as well as the subterranean world, did research on the knowledge passed down through the inheritances of ancient Magi, the subterranean world had preserved more of the styles and academic knowledge from the ancient era. This was extremely tempting to Leylin.

He naturally did not think that anything from past times would be better than what was in the present. After all, after developing for so many years, the academic knowledge and foundations were more suitable for the current Magi's progress and learning. However, this did not mean that knowledge from the ancient era was useless.

The might of the ancient Magi was deeply embedded in Leylin's mind. He was desperate to find out the secret behind the ancient Magi's power.

Based on Leylin's speed, he naturally did not need to spend a day and a half to get to Potter Town, as Aaron had said.

With the use of a few spells that increased his speed, the town appeared in front of him after about half an hour.

Potter Town's architecture was very different from what Leylin had seen on the south coast. It had an elegant yet formal style. Most of the buildings were rather tall, perhaps to properly utilise every single bit of land available.

At the heart of the little town was a tall minaret, which practically pierced into the skies. A bright little ball of light was at the peak, emitting light and warmth.

"So this is the most basic material that the people of the subterranean world rely on—sun stones! It really is similar to the sun!"

At this sight, Leylin suddenly felt a little moved. Though he specialised in dark elemental particles, he had been underground for such a long period, and suddenly seeing the bright sunlight got him quite excited.

Based on the memories he had gotten from Aaron, this light did not come from the shine of a real sun. It came from a high-energy mineral, the sun stone!

This mineral from the subterranean world was able to emit ultraviolet rays and warmth similar to that produced by the sun for a long period of time.

Every town here in the subterranean world had this type of lighthouse, which stored Sun Stones of different sizes. Every day, the people would depend on this method to have sunlight and provide energy to crops.

At the beginning, Leylin had already noticed that there were very little green plants growing here. This was because there was no sunlight, which meant that no photosynthesis could take place. Carbon dioxide and the like were absorbed by a grey moss, which could perform the conversion to oxygen.

Here, however, he finally saw a bit of green.

At the side of Potter Town, there was a large area of densely packed farmland. As the range of the light produced by the minaret was limited, every bit of space was important.

At the place closest to the town, a type of oat similar to that which grew on the south coast was grown here, though it did not seem to be growing that well.

At the area where the sunlight was directly shining, a type of large mushroom was being cultivated.

This mushroom was very large, even reaching Leylin's calf. It was grey on the outside and looked extremely juicy.

This mushroom made up around 80% of the crops being cultivated in the outer regions of the town. This was a terrifying ratio and meant that this mushroom was probably the staple food of the residents here.

This was the truth. This type of mushroom was called the Grey Spotted Fungus, and it was a high yield fungus that did not require much sunlight. In Aaron's memories, it had always been the staple food for people of the Twilight Zone.

In the Twilight Zone, nobility and Magi enjoyed oats, meat, and other precious ingredients, while peasants could only live off of the Grey Spotted Fungus.

Wherever there were people, there would be a certain hierarchy. In a Magus world where some people possessed extraordinary might, this was especially so, and Leylin had no desire to change anything.

Walking along the road, Leylin saw a wooden fence that was like an enclosure. There were also two guards in tattered clothes, holding lances that were rusted all over.

"Halt! What are you doing?" Upon noticing Leylin, the guards immediately gripped their lances, evidently on guard.

Leylin's leather armour made them feel a little wary.

The guard who had spoken was speaking in the Twilight Language. This language had already been sent to his memories by the A.I. Chip while he was on the way here, and after practising for one or two days, normal conversation was a simple task.

"I am a tired wanderer hoping to enter the town to get some rest and supplies! Don't worry, I will abide by the rules of the town." Leylin gave a slight smile, answering fluently in the Twilight Language.

Hearing Leylin's words, the two guards dropped their wariness. This also had to do with Leylin's harmless smile and handsome face, which easily gained him a favourable impression.

"Of course! If you show your identification documents to prove you aren't any of the fugitives, it's fine!"

The slightly shorter guard curled his lips.

"Of course, I know the procedure!" Leylin grinned, producing a piece of parchment and dangling it in front of the two guards. "Is this it?"

His voice immediately became faintly discernable, and it seemed as if some red rays flashed from his eyes.

"Of course! No problem!" The two guards momentarily felt a little dizzy but quickly regained their senses. "Welcome to Potter Town! The person in charge here is Baron Joseph. His emblem is a longsword and a giant eagle. I wish you a pleasant…"

"Good! One more question…"

Leylin obtained more information he wanted from the guards and bade them farewell with a gentle smile. He then entered the town.

Based on the directions from the guards, Leylin came to a small inn. After paying a few gold pieces, the lady boss, who was pleasantly surprised, led him to the best room of the inn.

The dinner was simple, with oats and salted meat, but this was enough to gather the attention of the children, who stood in a circle and watched him.

Oats that emitted the aroma of fresh milk, as well as meat, were a luxury that only the upper class of the Twilight Zone could have. If there were fruits or vegetables, they were also something that was reserved for nobility and Magi.

Though this inn had already brought out the best it had for Leylin, he still found it a little hard to stomach.

After the meal, he gave the boss lady a bit of silver as a tip. He then instructed her not to let anyone disrupt him, and closed the door to his room.

Though only a coarse sackcloth was spread on the bed, it was still much better than the hard rocks outside. Leylin half-lay on the soft bed hands behind his head and went into a daze.

Next, he retrieved a green wooden goblet from his leather pouch. "The extract of the Wisdom Tree! It's rumoured to provide enlightenment to Magi and increase spiritual force, as well as aiding in breaking through bottlenecks, which is something that goes against the heavens."

Rays of gentle, green light shone on Leylin, illuminating his bewitched expression.

"A.I. Chip! How's the analysis on this thing?" Leylin contemplated in his mind.

[Pure extract from the Wisdom Tree, possessing a powerful life force. Can increase vitality, and help a rank 2 Magus break through to a certain extent. Nature: Unknown!]

The A.I. Chip sent out some information.

"The essence from the Wisdom Tree, coupled with the goblet made from the body of the Wisdom Tree, definitely would not only have one effect when they're combined together…" Leylin focused on the green wooden cup, eyes exhibiting regret.

"It's a pity that this sort of thing will be wasted if I use it now. It can only increase my spiritual force by a bit. At most, it can only let me reach the level of a peak rank 2 Magus. As for advancing through the bottleneck to rank 3…"

Leylin had only recently advanced to be a rank 2 Warlock. He was still a long distance from the peak.

Hence, he gave a long sigh and kept these two items in his spatial leather pouch.

Dang dang!* A melodious chime resounded from the top of the minaret at the heart of the town.

As if switching off a light, the sun stone stopped emitting light and the entire town sunk into a darkness like the external world.

"It must be the night. The sun stone is now being changed to be maintained and protected!"

Leylin was naturally aware of this.

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Opening A Shop

The subterranean world was shrouded in darkness.

The towns and cities here where there were sun stones were the areas in which human traffic was high.

In the human cities of the Twilight Zone, the sun stone would be changed every 12 hours to be maintained, and kept the same light conditions as the surface of the earth.

However, a small area like Potter Town wouldn't have a high-grade sun stone. At most, it would be the size of an egg.

Based on rumours, the larger a sun stone was, the higher its value and better its function was; it was said that at the capital of the five regions, there was a sun stone the size of a small mountain!

The moment a sun stone was lost, the entire area would be engulfed in darkness and surrounded by countless dangers. Hence, at every area populated by humans, the sun stone was always placed in an area with the highest level of security.

Seeing the darkness outside the window, Leylin heaved a gentle sigh and pulled the curtains shut.

After setting up a defensive spell formation, Leylin sat up on the bed and began to meditate.

Dark red specks of light were pulled out of the air one after another, and gathered at Leylin's body.

In his sea of consciousness, the silver-white crystals became even more solid, and the slight cracks at the sides seemed to be repairing themselves.

As for the mark, with the seal from Leylin's solidified spiritual force, that milky-white light had become dimmer. He could tell that in the near future, the mark would be completely destroyed.

"It's going well!" After seeing this, Leylin, who had been on edge this entire time, could finally relax.

Afterwards, he collapsed onto the bed and went into a deep sleep.

Morning! With the regular pattern from the alarm clock, a ray of light passed through the curtain and entered Leylin's room.

"I finally got some rest!"

Leylin opened his eyes, feeling extremely comfortable. The tiredness accumulated from camping outside for a month dissipated with just a single day of rest.

This had to do with his frightening vitality. Even in his heavily injured state, all of his fatigue could be restored with a night's rest.

"Good morning, Sir!"

In the dining area within the inn, the slightly plump boss lady brought oatmeal bread and milk for breakfast, a smile on her face.

A few children with sullen, yellow skin and some dust on their face were all gathered at a corner, staring hard at Leylin's breakfast with desire apparent in their eyes.

However, they only dared look from afar, gulping down some saliva but not approaching him to beg for some food.

Whether it was Leylin's elegance or his armour, all of it was something that regular people did not possess.

These people usually held a lot of power and a high position. They had once seen someone with a huge hammer use his black hand to crush a child's head because he was annoyed by him!

After that incident, that murderer was merely imprisoned by the enforcement team for a few days and subsequently released after paying a fine.

Hence, these children had a clear understanding of the situation: never provoke anyone with weapons!

"Go away! Don't bother this lord who wants to enjoy his meal!"

Seeing these children harrassing her important guest, this lady boss shouted.

"It's alright!" Leylin picked up a slice of oatmeal bread, "Let them have it!"

"Yes, of course! My lord has such a kind heart!"

The plump boss lady's expression revealed her thought that this was a waste. However, she still tore the bread into several pieces and gave them to the children, "You're so lucky to have met such a kind-hearted lord! Eat and leave!"

The children quickly stuffed the oatmeal bread into their mouths, the aroma of food spreading inside their mouths. They cupped their hands over their mouths, on the verge of tears.

The children had argued and even almost fought amongst themselves for just a bit of bread.

There was a boy who was a little older than the rest of the group who had kept the oatmeal bread he had received in his clothes, probably to bring it back for someone to eat.

Though Grey Spotted Mushrooms could fill one's stomach, they tasted horrendous.

In addition, not everyone was able to even eat Grey Spotted Mushrooms. From the state of the children's clothes, they must have come from poor families, and might not have even had decent meals.

Leylin merely glanced at them for a moment, and then shifted his focus away.

He tossed out a piece of gold, which flew through the air and fell into the palm of the lady boss' hand.

"I really like Potter Town and wish to settle down here. I also want to open a shop here. Do you know what procedures I have to go through?"

Until his injures completely healed and he regained his strength as a rank 2 Magus, Leylin decided to temporarily live in seclusion.

He had a long life anyway and could afford to waste this bit of time.

"You want to open a shop here?" The lady boss was shocked, "What kind of shop do you want to open?"

"What do you think of a weapons shop?"

Leylin spoke nonchalantly. The purpose of this was to have a cover while he analysed the long sword of the Rays of Dawn. Hence, he had chosen a weapons shop.

He could clearly see that the Woody Wastelands was near Potter Town, and was an area where adventurers would go to. It wasn't a bad idea to make and sell some weapons here, and it would definitely be profitable.

"A weapons shop…" The boss lady hesitated, "My lord, you'll need to go through the department of internal affairs and the guards. Also, weapons are restricted items, so you'll need to get approval from the capital and Joseph…"

"I see." Leylin stroked his chin, and asked where the department of internal affairs, guard post and the baron's residence were before leaving the inn.

In just a few days, a weapons shop called "Blazing Hammers" covertly opened on the commerce street in Potter Town.

For others, it might be a little troublesome to go through so many procedures, but Leylin was a Magus. With just some spells to confuse the target or alter memories, a lot of issues could be solved.

Besides, he could afford to spend a lot of money, so the opening of the shop was obviously a smooth sailing process.

The shop took up a large amount of space. At the front was the counter and shop, and behind was the storeroom and smelting room, as well as the rooms of Leylin and a few workers.

The moment one entered, they would see sharp weapons displayed on the wooden shelves lining two walls, glinting in the light. An icy feeling spread in the room.

"This is a first-rate steel weapon!"

A huge man who dressed like a mercenary entered immediately attracted to a large steel sword.

"This tempering technique is usually only found in a few large weapon shops!" The huge man caressed the sword, the silvery blue luster at the edges causing his eyes to be fixated on it.

The price marked on the shelf almost had him biting his tongue, "Fifty gold! This really is the price that would be found in the capital! But this is just a small town…"

The people in the Twilight Zone naturally had their own currency. The gold and silver used here were even more valuable than that of the south coast, and the currency was completely different.

In order to help mask his identity, the gold and silver pieces that Leylin used were actually the money he had gained from the south coast, the shapes of which he had forcefully changed to match the currency used here.

"What would you like?"

An intelligent-looking young man wearing the uniform of an attendant, who Leylin had hired, quickly asked with a smile.

"That sword is too expensive!"

The large man waved the sword around for a while, reluctant to part with it. "Can it be cheaper?"

"My apologies!" He had an apologetic smile on his face. "Our shop does not allow bargaining. This is a rule set by our boss!"

The large man's face turned red, and he almost had the urge to cause a ruckus. However, he suppressed it.

Those who could make a living off of selling weapons usually had very powerful backgrounds; he wasn't planning on dying just for this.

In addition, the shop owner wasn't any regular person either. It was said that he was an adventurer of noble blood who had retired. Not only had he taken care of the department of internal affairs and the guards with an insane speed, even the baron had treated him as an important guest.

What was even more shocking was that the shop owner had a terrifying might that far exceeded that of the average adventurer.

This man had personally witnessed the young, black-haired shop owner take care of a few thugs, who wanted to extort protection fees, in a few seconds. They had subsequently been taken away by the guards, who had been informed and had arrived very quickly.

It was said that their fate was to become a labourer until their deaths!

These methods had intimidated a lot of people; after caressing the sword for a long time, as if it were his wife, the large man eventually reluctantly left.

Before leaving, he even had the young man reserve the sword, saying that he would return once he had enough money.

That night, after the last customer had left, the young man closed up and went to the room at the back.

Knock knock!*

"Boss, can I come in?" The young man tried to make his voice sound calm.

Every time he saw his boss, he felt like he would suffocate. The imposing aura from his new boss was too intense; the young man swore that he had once seen a real count, but even he had lacked the elegance and dignified aura this man exuded.

"Perhaps my boss really is the successor of a very ancient noble family, and is merely experiencing the life here!" The young man thought in his heart, before thinking it funny. He was imagining the wildest of fantasies.

"Is it Baelin? Come in!" A very youthful voice sounded.

Baelin composed himself, opened the door and entered.

In the room, a handsome man in a loose robe was lying on a soft chair, occasionally drinking a beverage with peppermint mixed into it. He even had a huge black book in his hands.

He was literate and had books! This was the biggest sign of nobility in the Twilight Zone!

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Meteor Sword

"Baelin! Is anything the matter?"

Leylin gazed at the servant the baron had introduced to him and smiled.

"No, I'd just like to report the situation in the shop to you!" Baelin tried his best to be less nervous.

"Though there are a lot of people who show interest in our shop, boss, your prices… they're a little too high, so it's not good for business. I even think our shop will make a loss this month…"

"Is that so! I understand. You can go back now!"

Leylin waved his hands, looking as if he hadn't been paying attention.

"Alright, you're the boss! You call the shots!" Upon seeing this, Baelin could confirm that this Lord Leylin was probably a successor from an ancient noble family who was out here to experience life. If not, he definitely wouldn't be taking things so lightly.

After Baelin left, Leylin started reading the book in his hands again.

On the yellowed parchment paper, red runes constantly moved like flames.

"To make a weapon from the Rays of Dawn is extremely difficult!" Leylin sighed.

The reason why he had opened this shop was to have his own smelting area while he recuperated. He could do some experimentation here.

As for those blades outside? They were only the products made on the side during experimentation.

Two years passed in a blur.

The residents of Potter Town were already used to this Master Leylin, the boss of the weapons shop.

Leylin rarely went outside, and barely took care of his weapons shop. Everything was left to Baelin, and he only would occasionally come over to supervise.

As he masked his identity well, nobody found out he was a Magus. At the most, they thought he was a young master from a noble family that was a wastrel.

In time, the words "Blazing Hammers" at the top of the shop were beginning to become mottled and show signs of decay.

The shop still had that lifeless aura to it. Though the weapons were known to be of superior quality, the prices were so expensive that people could only shrink back.

Leylin had no plans on relying on this shop to earn money. If the prices were too low, not only would business pick up, the other shops in the same industry would become jealous. Though he wasn't afraid, Leylin didn't want to stir up trouble over these small matters.

"Brother Baelin! I'm here again!"

Along with the voice, a boy with brown hair walked in through the entrance to the shop. He wore a linen short-sleeved shirt with some patches on it, and his eyes shone with intelligence.

"So it's Longbottom!" Baelin had no choice but to greet him.

"Hehe, Brother Baelin, let me help you!" Longbottom snatched the cleaning rag from Baelin's hands and began to wipe at the wooden shelves and cabinets.

His movements were practiced, and he was very familiar with the places that were often overlooked. Evidently, this was not the first time he was doing this.

After wiping the shelves and cabinets until they were sparkling clean, Longbottom expectantly looked at Baelin, waiting to be rewarded.

"Ugh, not again. Not again!" Baelin held his head, helpless.

"I told you! You're only allowed to use it for five minutes, and you can't tell anyone about this! You especially can't let the boss find out!"

If not for this little kid's beautiful sister, Baelin wouldn't bother with him.

"I know, I know!"

Longbottom quickly nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, and came before a shelf and took out a silver cross blade.

This cross blade was quite short, which was very fitting for Longbottom's stature. It was about two fingers wide, and the hilt was made from pure silver. There was even a red diamond embedded within, making it seem very luxurious!

Evidently, with Longbottom's financial background, he would definitely not be able to buy it no matter how much he saved up.

Longbottom held the cross blade carefully in his hands as if he were clasping some precious treasure.

"Hah!"

Longbottom slashed forward while holding the blade with both hands, making a crooked attack.

"Sigh… Little Longbottom, I'm not trying to be mean, but you'll never be able to become a knight by learning with those normal soldiers!"

Baelin couldn't help but shake his head. Potter Town was but a small one, and only the guards of the baron were knights. The rest were all made up of peasants, so what power could they have?

This Longbottom had wanted to become a knight from a very young age! For this reason, he would secretly watch the soldiers' training.

After discovering this place, he would come over to help free of charge, with the price of having Baelin lend him something in the shop for him to play with for a while.

Out of everything in the shop, Longbottom's favourite weapon was this cross blade.

"Brother Baelin, then who should I learn from?" Longbottom held the blade, his expression desolate, "I'm only the son of a regular hunter, and we can't pay the expensive fees to go through training…"

Longbottom had someone in mind.

Ever since he had found out that the boss of the shop, Master Leylin, was a powerful knight, he was even more diligent in coming over. He might even become like the main characters in stories about knights, having a great talent in this area and ending up with Leylin taking a fancy to him!

"Sigh…" Looking at this, Baelin could only sigh. In Twilight Zone, it was extremely difficult for a regular person to become outstanding.

"Little Longbottom, I think you should give up on this impossible dream, and come over here to learn how to read from me every day!"

Baelin proposed seriously, "Though I don't know that many letters, it's enough for you to be able to read the accounts. When the time comes, you'll be able to find some kind of bookkeeping job."

"Thank you, Brother Baelin!" Longbottom was extremely touched. Even if he wanted to study from someone, he would need to pay an exorbitant fee, yet Baelin was actually willing to teach him for free. This was something that he was very grateful for.

"It's nothing, it's nothing!" Baelin turned red, "It's for my own sake too. If boss were to see this, I might not even be able to keep my job…"

"See what…"

Leylin's voice sounded, and Baelin was stunned.

Baelin stiffly turned back to the sight of Leylin, who had just entered.

"Bo- Boss! Why are you here now?" The smile on Baelin's face was extremely stiff, and he was even stuttering while speaking.

He had let others play with the products in the shop, and that was already a huge offense. Leylin could fire him just like this! However, the pay here was so high to the point that Baelin was not willing to give up this job!

Baelin inwardly grumbled. Leylin had always been reclusive, and often stayed in his room or the smelting room, not making himself known for days on end. How could he be so timely today and meet with this sight?"

Thud!*

Longbottom's hands trembled, and the cross blade fell, producing a low thud as it hit the floor.

"Mas-Master Leylin!"

Longbottom called out while stuttering. For regular people like him, Leylin, the boss of a weapons shop, was an incredible person. Longbottom now felt like a thief who had been caught on the spot, and even his calves began to tremble.

"Oh?" Leylin shot a glance at the blade, and smiled at Baelin, "It looks like you've been having a lot of fun while I wasn't around!"

"Boss! No, my lord! Please forgive me!" Baelin was so scared that he quickly knelt, while Longbottom's body was already limp and he was unable to speak.

"I'll settle this matter with you later!" Leylin glared at Baelin and spoke to Longbottom. "Kid, you have been touching the things in my shop as you pleased without gaining permission. How are you going to make it up to me?"

"My—My lord…" Longbottom's teeth chattered and his voice sounded like he was crying. There were only regular people in his family, and they were perhaps even of a lower status to others. What could he give to make it up to Leylin?

"Alright! From today onwards, you are to report here and do some odd jobs here for two hours every day as compensation!

Having teased him enough, Leylin touched his chin and made his decision.

Longbottom was stunned. What terrified him the most was that Leylin might have wanted him to pay money, and then get the guards to throw him in jail. Odd jobs? What kind of punishment was that?

"What are you in a daze like that for? Quick, thank my lord!" Baelin quickly reacted and pressed Longbottom's head down.

"Thank you so much, my lord! Thank you so much!" Longbottom only now reacted, gratitude apparent on his face.

To have a good reason to touch the weapons in the shop was basically a dream for him. He was even able to make a connection to Leylin, a legendary, powerful Knight. It was something he never imagined would happen!

"Alright! Come and work here starting tomorrow afternoon!"

Leylin nodded, turned, and went to the back of the shop.

Actually, Leylin had long since noticed Baelin and Longbottom's actions, but he couldn't be bothered with them. However, a few of his experiments were going quite well, and he was in a good mood.

After he entered his room, Leylin thought, "A.I. Chip! How's the progress of the weapon blueprint simulation?"

[Beep! Weapon blueprint simulation: 100%. Completed setup of blueprint and runes!]

The A.I. Chip quickly intoned, and then sent an image of a weapon before Leylin's eyes.

This was a black cross blade that looked to be very ordinary. It could be said to be ordinary to the extreme, but the cross section was filled with lines to loop energy, as well as runes.

[Design of exclusive weapon is complete, named "Meteor"] the A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded.

In these two years, Leylin had finally completely analysed the middle-grade magical artifact that was the weapon for the Branded Swordsman— the Rays of Dawn. He had combined all his knowledge on smelting and spell formations, in order to create his own exclusive weapon!

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Toying

[Warlock class-specific weapon: Meteor Sword! Length: 1.67m. Width: 0.03m. Carved within are the following: High-grade energy converging runes, fire elemental brand runes, dark elemental amplification runes… Estimated grade of product: High-grade magic artifact!]

The long sword the A.I. Chip projected in front of Leylin constantly rotated, and listed large quantities of data around it.

"The design is completed. All that's left is to find the materials and actually make it." Leylin was excited.

However, when he entered his sea of consciousness, this joy quickly dissipated.

After two years, the silver-white crystal in his sea of consciousness was still as resilient as ever, and had only shrunk a little in size.

The spiritual force it produced allowed Leylin to increase his might from that of a regular rank 1 Magus, to the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus.

As for the cracks at the edges of his sea of consciousness, they had yet to be completely restored.

The mark left behind by the rank 3 Magus, Alric, on the other hand, had been completely expelled by Leylin.

However, the stubbornness of the mark of spiritual force left behind by the rank 3 Magus had exceeded Leylin's expectations. He had estimated that it would take around two months to dispel, but in reality, it had taken an entire year before he was able to completely remove the mark from his sea of consciousness.

"Perhaps I should find an opportunity to make contact with the Magi of the subterranean world!"

Due to his serious injuries, Leylin could only display the strength of a regular rank 1 Magus. Hence, he had chosen to lie low. However, now that he had regained enough of his strength to reach the peak of rank 1, he could be considered the best in the Twilight Zone, and it was natural that he would want to explore.

In addition, the progress of the reparation of his sea of consciousness was going very slowly, which made Leylin furrow his brows.

He was prepared to find some methods out there to hasten this process. If not, and he were to rely on just time, he had no idea how long this would take.

At this thought, Leylin began to feel jittery.

His expression twitched, and he untied a black water flask and took a drink. Leylin's facial muscles then relaxed, and he forced a smile, "Also, I have to find a way to control the overly emotional side effects of being a Warlock!"

For Warlocks, the ancient bloodlines did give them formidable power, but they also negatively impacted their emotions

These emotions would lie dormant deep in one's blood or even one's spirit, occasionally causing trouble and causing the Warlock to sink into a state of extreme emotion.

For the Magus who sought truth and control, this was not tolerable.

Hence, Leylin had been searching for a method to solve this problem.

"The inheritances found in the south coast are only useful up to a certain point, and the items left behind from the ancient era are very few. There is very little information regarding Warlocks, and there doesn't seem to be any sorts of methods there. But this place is different!"

Leylin's eyes shone with hope. "This is the Twilight Zone, a part of the subterranean world! Due to the lack of connection with the outside world, it has very little external influences, and preserves the inheritances from ancient times in their entirety. In other words, aside from the central continent, there are still places that might have research material regarding warlocks; this must be one of those areas!"

At this thought, Leylin touched his chin.

"Potter Town is in a very remote area, and the resources at the Woody Wastelands can, at most, attract only a few acolytes. I haven't seen any Magi here. It looks like I have to go deeper into the Twilight Zone…"

Potter Town was only a small town in the vastness of the Twilight Zone, and while he had stayed here for over two years, Leylin had seen very few Magi.

Apart from this town, there was an even bigger city. If he advanced layer by layer, he would find the eastern capital!

Leylin was sure that there were many Magi in the city!

The rules in the subterranean world were different from the south coast. The existence of Magi were made public; they would not hide in some unknown location and isolate themselves from the world.

The Magi who wielded power were naturally of a high status. Even the nobility had to bow to them.

"Though the population of Twilight Zone is only half of the south coast, with the extensive spread of high-grade meditation techniques and their simplified versions, there are still many instances of Magi appearing. The hierarchy of Magi is similar to that on the south coast, though I don't know how many rank 3 Magi there are, or if there are any Morning Star Magi here…"

Leylin propped up his chin using his hand, sinking into deep thought.

……

The candle on the table burned with dull yellow flames, reflecting Leylin's long, flickering shadow onto the wall…

During the afternoon of the next day, little Longbottom punctually came to the shop.

"You are very punctual! I like kids who obey rules!"

Leylin was bored to death, so he took over what had been Baelin's position, and was yawning at the counter. He pointed towards the storeroom at the side. "Your task is to move those metals over there to the backyard!"

"Boss! Is this…" Baelin endured for a while, but could not take it any longer, and pointed to the storeroom as he spoke to Leylin.

"Every single one of those metals is even heavier than Longbottom's own bodyweight…?"

Following his finger, one could see, through the half-open door to the storeroom, chunks of metal that were the size of a human head.

This were the raw materials that Leylin used while smelting. They were very dense, and their weights were terrifying.

When they had been transported here, Leylin had called for three strong men, and it had taken an entire afternoon for them to transport them. In Baelin's eyes, Leylin was obviously making things difficult for the little kid by assigning him to such work.

"It's his choice whether he wants to do it or not!"

Leylin shrugged his shoulders, found a chair, and began to doze contentedly.

"Brother Baelin, I want to give it a try!" Seeing the mountain of metals, he gulped, but at the sight of Leylin beginning to nod off, he made his mind and began to work.

The metals were very heavy, and just lifting it a centimeter off the ground caused Longbottom's arms to tremble.

Thud!* Longbottom curved his back and slowly moved to the open space at the back, the metal sounding a low thud as it fell.

"Hah…" Just moving one piece of metal was enough to cause Longbottom to pant, large drops of perspiration dripping from his face.

"Longbottom, you can't continue, or else you'll sustain long-term injuries…"

Baelin naturally knew that the terrifying amount of work he had to do would permanently harm, or even disable, a growing child's body!

Even if he wasn't doing this for Longbottom's pretty sister, Baelin felt that he could not let this youngster he got along with to continue like this.

"No!" Longbottom looked in the direction of Leylin, who had stalked off, with a resolute expression on his face.

In that whole afternoon, the residents of Potter Town could see a strange sight at Leylin's weapon shop.

A petite young boy was slowly working, moving pieces of black metal that were half his size.

That day, after completing two hours of work, Longbottom's arms and legs constantly trembled, and he had no more strength to fiddle with any blades, dragging his fatigued body back home.

This went on for ten days, and only then did Longbottom finish moving all the metals to the open space at the backyard.

"You really work very slowly!"

Leylin judged, dissatisfied. "Next, I want you to move them back to the storeroom. Is that understood?"

"But Master Leylin…" Upon hearing this task, Longbottom's body trembled. This physical labour had caused him a sore back, and it was so painful that he could not sleep at night. And now, he had to move them back? Longbottom felt like he would die from the fatigue!

He wasn't just having fun here. He still needed to help his parents with work!

"Boss, you're just toying with him!"

Baelin could not take this any longer, and jumped out while roaring at Leylin.

"Shut up." Leylin spoke indifferently, but his glare caused Baelin to retreat while holding onto his chest and being unable to say a word.

"I'm the boss here, and what I say goes!" A teasing smirk was still about Leylin's lips. "Youngster, you can leave right now, but if you do, you are to never return to my shop again!"

Longbottom was quiet, and then went to the metals without a word, and began to work.

"What an interesting fellow!"

Leylin poured himself a cup of peppermint beverage, leisurely watching Longbottom moving back and forth.

Leylin still needed to prepare for a period, and was quite rather bored. He only needed to pay brief attention to the calculations of the A.I. Chip, and could find time to toy with this youngster.

This labour was not something a child would be able to handle. In addition, it was easy to sustain injuries while working. Leylin had already discovered some bruises on Longbottom's calves and arms.

"How long can he sustain this for? I look forward to it."

Leylin touched his chin, a profound smile on his face.

For the next few days, Longbottom's eyes were lifeless and he wobbled as he walked, causing people to be worried that this kid might just collapse and die.

An unexpected person also visited Leylin's shop.

"Esteemed Master Leylin!" A beautiful young girl wearing a coarse sackcloth as a skirt curtsied towards Leylin.

"Could you please forgive my brother? Longbottom has been doing physical labour here for about fifteen days, and I'm afraid that he might not be able to hold on…"

This young maiden sobbed while she produced a white handkerchief.

After opening it, Leylin found that there were some silver coins and copper, as well as a small broken piece of gold coin that was about a quarter of the original size.

"If it's for what he has done wrong, I'm willing to compensate you here…"

Leylin glanced at this young maiden and shook his head.

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Plot Twist

"I've mentioned it before. This is a mutual agreement. If your brother doesn't want to do this, he's free to leave at any time!"

Leylin spoke slowly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask him!" Leylin pointed at Longbottom, who was standing towards the side.

"Sister!" Longbottom ducked his head, a little afraid, but he sounded resolute, "It's my own choice to work here at Master Leylin's. It has nothing to do with him. Please don't stop me."

"You…" This young maiden was exasperated and pulled at Longbottom's arm, revealing a large bruise, "Look at this. How are you still engrossed in these Knight fiction novels…"

"Cough cough!" Leylin suddenly coughed, interrupting her.

"This is my shop. If you wish to discipline your brother, please do it elsewhere and do not disrupt my business…"

Leylin said this boldly, though there were no customers in his shop right now.

"My- My apologies, my lord!" The young maiden covered her mouth, realising that her words just now were offensive to Leylin.

She bowed, revealing her fair breasts and quickly left with Longbottom in tow. The sounds of them arguing could still be heard.

Baelin watched her back, looking enchanted.

"What a pure, kind-hearted lady! Don't you agree?" Leylin looked at Baelin, revealing a smile full of bad intentions.

"Of course! Miss Venus is a very diligent young lady, and works at three jobs outside in order to help with her family's finances."

Baelin subconsciously answered.

"Hm, I have no right to say anything about her kindness, but regarding her purity?" Leylin's grin widened.

"Boss! You can scold me, but you can't tarnish her reputation!" Baelin clenched his fist, and even his face turned red.

"Oh, love. Love! How beautiful it is! How vibrant, for it to even attract a moth into the flames! To make cowardly little lambs turn into savage, mighty beings!"

Leylin chanted some proverbs, and without waiting for Baelin to ask, he continued, "While Miss Venus was wearing coarse clothing, although she had tried her best to hide it, there was still the smell of cheaply-priced perfume. It's not from today, and there's still some eyeshadow on her face. Her handkerchief is a good quality product from Old Walker's shop; she seems to have too much money… In just that short contact with her, she seemed to have tried to entice me at least three times! This must be some occupational habit…"

With every sentence that came out from Leylin's mouth, Baelin felt like a sledgehammer had struck his chest, and he fell back.

However, Leylin continued on with a fatal blow, "If I'm not wrong, you might find Miss Venus at midnight at the well-known Night Warbler alley…"

"No! What you said can't be true!"

Baelin's face distorted, but his pale expression evidently meant that he believed Leylin's words. He was stunned and suddenly roared, dashing out of the door.

"Hehe… The senseless dreams of youths!" Leylin laughed, having a great time.

"It's really quite fun to destroy fantasies and let youths find out about the cruelty of life as soon as possible!"

Longbottom quickly returned with two very red handprints on his face. He didn't say anything to Leylin and began his daily work.

As for Baelin, that poor fellow was said to have drank at a bar for an entire night. He only came to the shop the next day but was chased out by Leylin, who looked at him in disdain, wanting him to take care of the lingering smell of alcohol, lest he wouldn't need to return.

Boom!*

Seeing the last piece of metal moved to the storeroom, Longbottom, who was riddled with scars finally sighed with relief, glancing at Leylin with expectant eyes.

"Youngster, you're smart and can persevere! From hereon, I declare that you are able to come to my shop for five minutes every day when nobody is around, and browse my products."

Leylin tried his best to resist his laughter while announcing.

"Huh?" Longbottom raised his head, stunned.

"What's wrong? Did you think I would take you in as my disciple and help you become a knight, and then you'd be a head above the rest, marry a princess, and live happily ever after?"

Leylin had on a teasing smile, "Kiddo, you're still too immature."

Longbottom turned pale in embarrassment now that his plan had been seen through.

"You liar! You're a liar!" He yelled, and quickly ran out.

Pak!* As he had run too quickly, he had tripped by the road and fallen onto the ground, getting soil all over him.

"Haha!" "Haha…" "Come look! Isn't that the fool from Blazing Hammers?"

The pitiful sight of Longbottom attracted the unfeeling attention of the passersby.

Under their ridicule, Longbottom yelled and frantically left as soon as he could.

Leylin supported his weight by the door, beaming as he watched.

"Boss, you're so mean! No, you're terrible!" Baelin stood behind Leylin with dark circles under his eyes. His face had become gaunt as he muttered at Leylin.

"Hehe… It's not like this is the first day since you became acquainted with me!" Leylin shrugged and came to the backyard.

He produced a black cross blade, the design of which was extremely similar to the "Descent" long sword designed by the A.I. Chip. However, there were no energy waves emanating from this sword at all.

This was the imitation that Leylin had made using the design for the "Descent" sword. Only the outer appearance and weight were similar, and there were no energy runes or anything of the sort within.

"Hah!" Leylin lifted the blade and thrust forward, doing a move that looked like it came straight out of a textbook!

The sharp blade slashed out and cut the air, producing a piercing, explosive sound.

Though the long sword of Descent had yet to be made, Leylin had begun to make preparations beforehand so that he could get used to the weapon quicker.

Thrust! Slash! Strike!

Leylin suddenly turned into multiple figures on the ground, each of which held poses that were paused in mid-air.

At the end, Leylin leaped, "Cross Slash!"

A huge cross streaked across a huge rock in the area.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Under Leylin's Cross Slash, the rock turned into four large parts.

"This…" Baelin was dazed at Leylin's terrifying might and gaped like a huge toad.

"I've seen the knights from the baron's residence attack, but their offensive power isn't to this extent. Could Master Leylin be a legendary Grand Knight?"

Baelin was so stunned that he could not even close his mouth.

"What? Do you want to learn?" Leylin picked up a white towel and wiped his hands. Seeing Baelin in this state, he smiled and asked.

"Yes! …No, I… Don't…" Baelin was confused, and his speech became incoherent.

"So? Do you want to, or do you not want to?" Leylin grinned.

Baelin only managed to react after a long while, still disbelieving that he would get such an opportunity. He was afraid of being cheated by Leylin. "Boss! Oh, no, master! I mean, I'm already 19 and I'm quite old. I've never had any official training and can only recognise a few words. Isn't it best to start training to become a knight as soon as possible? If you want a disciple, I think Longbottom is even more suitable than I am…"

Though he said this, Baelin's breathing became rough in the face of such a huge temptation.

"If you really want a reason, there's only one." Leylin spoke slowly, and Baelin's ears couldn't help but perk up.

"Because I'm happy! Is this reason enough?"

Leylin beamed. Warlocks were really quite impulsive beings.

In addition, Leylin felt that it wasn't good to keep suppressing the emotions of a warlock. He needed to find some way to vent, and since he found Baelin pleasing to the eye, he decided to do as he wished.

"Alright! In the face of such a mighty reason, Baelin could only laugh helplessly.

"If Longbottom found out that this was the reason, he'd definitely cry himself to death!" Baelin thought inwardly.

"So? Do you want to learn?"

"Of course! I do!" Baelin agreed right away. He would be an idiot if he were to reject at this point!

Pak!* A wooden sword was thrust, striking Baelin's face.

This poor guy collapsed, finding it difficult to climb back up.

"Your footwork is too slow. You need to ensure your footsteps and breath are in sync. Understood?"

Leylin was dressed in black as he stood in front of Baelin, "Get up!"

"Un-understood, my lord!" Baelin sucked in a cold breath and was somewhat able to get up. Leylin had been controlling his strength well; he had used just enough strength to cause Baelin pain, but not inflict internal injuries.

When Leylin had first agreed to train him, Baelin had planned to call Leylin 'Mentor', but Leylin naturally did not want a disciple, and had rejected his idea without a second thought.

After an hour of swordplay practice, they came to the breathing method.

"For knights, what they are training is their life energy, which is also known as their life essence!" Leylin instructed with zeal.

"About 5cm below the lower abdomen, in an inverted triangle area. This is where we think we can cultivate the spirit. Training to become a knight happens by manipulating the frequency of breathing, adjusting the secretions within the body, and hence producing more life essence."

Leylin began to impart his knowledge regarding the cross blade breathing technique, which he had reorganised, to Baelin.

He was now extremely knowledgeable, and the information stored in his mind was plentiful. He also had experience from grooming his Branded Swordsmen. He had simply optimized his Farlier Family's Cross Blade breathing technique and had upgraded it quite a bit.

Based on Leylin's estimations, his version of the breathing technique could probably be considered the best, even amongst Grand Knights.

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Baelin And The Girl

"Breathe out! Breathe in! Focus! Pay attention to the frequency!"

Baelin had taken off his shirt, revealing some muscle that he had gained after all these days of training. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply; the muscles on his body shook as he breathed.

"No, your abdominal muscles are moving incorrectly!" With a swing of his arms, a wooden sword mercilessly hacked at Baelin's lower abdomen.

Baelin's face twisted, and the muscles there withdrew. *Hah!* Two white streams of air exited from his nostrils.

"Remember it? This is the feeling!"

Leylin patted using the wooden sword.

"Hah…" After training a complete round in the breathing method, Baelin expelled a long breath, some black impurities could be found in the white gas that he let out. He opened his eyes.

"Are you a pig? It took you ten days to understand the surface of this simple breathing technique!"

Leylin scolded, and Baelin could only rub his head and laugh, continuously apologising.

After so many days of training, he could feel the sturdiness of his body increasing. With the help of the breathing technique, he could begin to feel some warmth flowing in his body.

The intoxicating feeling he gained from achieving power made Baelin addicted to it. Even if Leylin wanted to kill him now, he wouldn't leave no matter what.

"Go. A thousand times of the sword swings, and five thousand squats!" Leylin pointed, and Baelin immediately complied.

"I didn't think that this random fellow that I decided to teach would actually have some talent!"

The corner of Leylin's lips curved up into a smile as he watched Baelin perspire in the small field.

Baelin was evidently suited to the path of the knight. If Leylin had not used the A.I. Chip, Baelin might not even be able to scratch the surface of the improved cross blade breathing technique in ten days and grasp life essence. However, he had done it!

"However, I've never really had the talent to become a knight. In comparison, this speed would probably mean Baelin is an unprecedented talent! I wonder how his spiritual aptitude is?"

The spiritual aptitude of regular people was not very obvious. Unless he had access to specific spells or supplementary tools, even Leylin could not tell the talent that one had for magic.

"It looks like I have to stay here for a period of time…"

Leylin's expression darkened. Though he had planned on looking for other Magi, the sudden explosion of his emotions due to his Warlock blood had delayed his schedule.

Leylin could only use a few common methods to slowly let out the emotions in his heart. Also, he could only brew a few potions of a higher grade than the potion of tranquility to suppress his symptoms.

His plans after arriving in the Twilight Zone would be related to the obtaining of high-grade meditation techniques. He would not allow himself to wander around while he was still in this highly emotional state. If he did, there was an 80% chance that things would turn out like when he was robbing the essence of the Wisdom Tree and incited the anger of multiple people, who then chased after him.

Unwittingly, six months passed.

Without knowing it, since the whole process was so smooth, Baelin activated the life energy in his body and became a real knight.

This miserable fellow saw that he was unable to withstand even one move from Leylin and thought that he was still a regular human. Therefore, he worked hard towards his goal of becoming a knight

The one effect of his becoming a Knight was being able to withstand one strike from Leylin before collapsing.

As for Longbottom, Leylin did not see him anymore. It was said that that kid, who was unwilling to admit failure, had followed a bunch of traders going to trade at a city, and was hoping to get lucky.

It was a pity that Leylin had seen plenty of youngsters struggling outside with their dreams in mind. Out of a hundred, ninety would die without reason, and the majority of the remainder would become beggars, disabled, thieves, or criminals.

Only one percent would be successful.

Leylin had listened to Baelin talk about this for a while and had thrown this matter to the back of his mind.

"Hah!"

Baelin brandished the large steel sword in his hand, the blade glinting with a cold, sharp light, roaring as he charged towards Leylin.

"Kill!" He struck with his large sword, which in its wake brought a fierce gale.

On the other hand, Leylin was holding a wooden sword and shook his head, "Too many excess movements!"

With just a gentle thrust forward, the wooden sword entered the metallic rays of light.

What seemed to be a gentle, slow attack from the wooden sword pushed Baelin's steel sword away, and the wooden sword pierced Baelin's armpit!

"Ugh…" Baelin groaned and collapsed.

"Disappointing! Too disappointing!" Leylin bluntly struck him down.

During his free time after researching, he would tease this guy. It was one of the many pleasures he had in his spare time.

"My lord, can't you let me win a little?"

Baelin huffed and puffed, complaining as he sat on the ground, "I'm always defeated in one blow! Gosh! I feel like I haven't been improving at all…"

"Stop with the nonsense! Continue training. To punish you for being unable to withstand one move, you are to do a thousand more push-ups!"

Leylin tried his best not to laugh as he showed a poker face.

In fact, Baelin was improving extremely quickly. He was on the verge of advancing to become a Grand Knight. On one hand, this had to do with the effectiveness of the breathing method Leylin had provided. On the other, Baelin's talent and diligence could not be disregarded.

Leylin reclined on a deck chair, watching Baelin sweating, but his thoughts were all on the A.I. Chip.

[Beep! Based on the real-time monitoring, host body's secretion of adrenaline is at a low level, and mental status is becoming stable. Estimated to reach normal level in 341 hours!]

Through the diagrams and curve that the A.I. Chip analysed, Leylin was overjoyed to find that after all his efforts, his emotions were stabilising.

"Based on this pace, I'll be able to completely suppress the explosion of my emotions in ten or so days…" Leylin grinned.

"Boss! Is the boss here?"

At this moment, a young man's voice travelled over, "We want to buy something. Is the boss of Blazing Hammers around?"

Upon hearing this voice, Baelin stopped his training. "Oh, my heavens! There's someone actually coming to boss' shop? Has the sun risen from the west?"

Due to Leylin's unconventional pricing, only a few items were sold every year despite the excellent quality of the weapons in the shop.

"What are you talking about! Go and entertain the customer!" Leylin's sword knocked on Baelin's head.

At this moment, Baelin remembered that his real identity was a worker employed to man the weapon shop. He immediately put on a white shirt and jogged out to receive the customer.

Leylin was a little curious and followed him out.

"My lady, please come in!"

Baelin seemed to be fawning over a girl of noble blood, who was wearing sophisticated clothing and had a ring with strange inscriptions on it. He made eyes at Leylin, indicating they were going to make a huge sale.

Behind this noble girl was an old man with silver hair that seemed to be a butler. Behind this man were two young guards wearing armour made of iron mail. The one who had shouted was evidently one of the guards.

On the shoulder of the guard, there was a large crest with sun vines adorning it. In the middle were a sword, shield, and a crown!

Leylin was learned in the area of the coat of arms, and naturally knew that no matter which society they were in, only the first-rate nobility were able to use a crown in their crest.

"Interesting! A daughter of a noble? She even has an acolyte and two knights protecting her!"

Leylin gazed at this group of people with interest. The butler behind the girl was obviously a level 3 acolyte, and he even had a low-grade magic artifact, judging from the energy waves it gave off.

The guards behind them were guards with the strength of knights.

Even this girl herself also produced undulations from energy particles and had the power of a rank 1 acolyte. All sorts of amplification type rings were on her fingers.

At this moment, the four guests were surprised at Baelin, who was treating them so politely—not every shop had a Knight that would service guests!

Baelin, who was still oblivious to everything, was politely introducing to the girl, "My lady, if you wish to go to the Woody Wasteland, I recommend this steel sword! Its workmanship is first rate, and there won't be any nicks even after killing thousands. If you couple it with these arrowheads, it's even more perfect…"

Baelin's saliva flew everywhere as he opened another cabinet, revealing a bunch of arrowheads that looked completely new and was giving of a turquoise luster.

This eagerly attentive display that might even be seen to be overly humble had Leylin laughing inside. The two soldiers behind the girl turned, a little embarrassed at seeing a knight just like them, who seemed to be tarnishing their reputation.

In fact, if not for their owner being right in front, they would long since have drawn their swords and taught this fellow who knew nothing about the dignity of knights a lesson.

"Look!" The noble girl spoke to the old butler behind her.

The butler with the strength of a level 3 acolyte went forward, touching the steel sword with his wrinkly hands and then touching the arrowhead, shock apparent on his face, "The quality is not bad! It can even be compared with the works of the Great Master Yoda."

"Oh?" The surprise was evident on this girl's face. This was the first time she had seen her butler praise any item, and even more so comparing it to Great Master Yoda? That was a Master who had earned a reputation in the eastern capital from forging weapons, and was extremely popular with the public!

"Who forged the weapons here?" She asked, looking at Baelin. After all, his bulging muscles were very enchanting.

Leylin, who concealed his power very well, was naturally ignored.

"Oh, those!" Baelin was about to brag about his boss, but upon seeing Leylin's warning look, he corrected himself, "That's obviously a secret!"

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Rescue

"Is that so?" The girl lifted her brows, and even Baelin couldn't bear to keep eye contact.

"Please pass on this message to that great master! I would like to meet him, and our Argus Family welcomes him to our door!" She spoke in an aloof manner.

The guard behind her immediately took out a sculpture that looked similar to the crest on his shoulder and passed it to Baelin.

"This! This! And those arrows. We want them all!"

The girl pointed at the display cabinet.

"Alright, alright!" Baelin was so excited that he was flushed red. He didn't even have the time to analyse the crest in his hand, and immediately packed up the swords and other weapons, passing them to the guards behind her.

"The total is 1050 Gold! Thank you for your patronage!"

Baelin nodded at the girl, and the butler passed a small bag of gold coins and a purple-gold card to him. Baelin was on the verge of becoming stupid as his hand trembled while holding the bag.

The girl saw his movements and a glint of mischievousness appeared in the young noble's eyes.

"I wish to go to the Woody Wastelands! Can you be my guide? I'll pay 10 Gold per day."

"Ten- Ten Gold?" Baelin's breathing became rough.

While working in Leylin's shop, the pay was 3 Gold per month; this was already a pay grade that made the residents of Potter Town incomparably envious.

Ten Gold a day? This was something Baelin had never even dreamed of!

"But!" Baelin looked at Leylin and gritted his teeth as he rejected the suggestion. "My apologies, my lady! I must work here every day…"

Though Baelin wanted to make some quick money, he was still able to make a distinction between the present and the future.

Leylin was currently teaching him how to train to become a knight! This was only available in specific noble families of the Twilight Zone, and he would not have another chance to get it, even with over a thousand Gold!

If he gave this up just for a little Gold, that would mean giving up his future as a Knight; Baelin felt that he would completely regret that choice of action.

"Interesting, interesting! I never thought I'd discover such an intriguing shop on this trip!"

The girl laughed like a skylark.

"My name is Jenny, and I live in the largest inn in the town. If you change your mind, you can come look for me at any time."

After the girl and her companions left, Baelin carefully placed the gold and purple-gold card on the table.

"The purple-gold card that is valued at a thousand Gold! It's the first time I've ever seen this, and in addition, there are so many gold coins. My lord! We've struck it rich!" Baelin's eyes were full of little stars.

"Yeah, yeah!" Leylin nodded, paying no mind as he kept the purple-gold card.

"The rest of the gold shall be yours as a commission!"

"Oh, boss, let me praise you! You're really the master of fairness, the embodiment of compassion…" Baelin immediately began to cheer.

He tossed the crest up and down in his hand, puzzled. "This seems quite familiar! I recall hearing something about this Oscar Family from somewhere before…"

Suddenly, he shrieked, "Damn it! Sun Vine Argus! It's the marquis family in the eastern capital! What did I just give up…"

However, although Baelin sighed, he did not pursue this matter any further.

After all, they weren't going to take him in as a servant, but only as a guide. It would be a very stupid decision to reject Leylin's teachings here.

The appearance of the Marquis' daughter here obviously made her the topic of conversation in Potter Town. Leylin could hear the latest news about this group from Baelin.

"My Lord! My Lord! Apparently, Miss Jenny came to this place in order to prepare to obtain a very special birthday gift for her mother! She's preparing to look for it in the wastelands. What a filial daughter she is!"

"Haha… I found out that Miss Jenny is looking for a special plant called the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud! It's said to help women maintain their looks for ten years, and can even be sold off at an auction in the eastern capital for almost a hundred thousand Gold! After offering a reward for it, all the adventurers, mercenaries and even residents of the town have begun to pour into the Woody Wastelands to look for it, dreaming of getting rich quickly!"

"My Lord! I just saw Miss Jenny entering the Woody Wastelands while being guided by the baron's knights…"

Baelin was as excited as a sparrow, chirping in front of Leylin; Leylin just rolled his eyes.

"Have you completed your homework for today?"

With that single sentence, Baelin completely quieted down and scratched his head.

"No, but I'll be done soon!" Having said this, Baelin quickly rushed to the training grounds and began to wave around a large sword that was about the height of a person.

"You still have the mind to think about running around outside of training. You seem to have a lot of excess energy!" Leylin grinned, "I'll multiply the tasks you have to do for today."

"Oh! No!" Hearing Baelin's anguished wailing, Leylin felt his mood improve.

"Oh, Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud?" Leylin touched his chin and searched up some information recorded by the A.I. Chip from the ancient ruins.

He seemed to have seen records about this sort of precious plant in ancient books. It was said that it lived in a very harsh environment and needed to coexist with a high energy being, taking in the blood of this being every once in awhile, or else it would wilt.

"I remember that the high-energy being coexisting with the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud is called the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon. It's said to be a mix between an ancient dragon and some demon, though I have no idea how true that information is…"

Leylin pondered deeply, "In addition, the beautification effect of the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud is just a side effect. The main use of the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud is to combat specific toxins…"

"Interesting. I was just searching for a good reason to enter the eastern capital!" Leylin glanced at Baelin who was still wailing but did not dare stop training, a fierce light glinting in his eyes.

Three days later, a small group laden with injuries returned to Potter Town, bringing back horrifying news.

The team with the Marquis' daughter had met with unexpected danger while chasing after the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon and were stuck somewhere. Even the baron's knight team captain had sacrificed himself.

This team had risked their lives to return and seek help.

The entire town sank into terror. The fury of a Marquis was something Potter Town could not take on, and the person most afraid of the headstrong daughter were the owner of the area, Baron Joseph.

"My lord! My lord! I heard that…"

Baelin rushed into the yard like a gust of wind, to the sight of a plump man in luxurious clothes, constantly using a gold-coloured handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his face.

He was instantly like a duck held by the neck, his words stuck in his throat as he bowed, "Hello, Sir!"

This plump man was obviously Baron Joseph, the man in charge of Potter Town. Even Baelin's current job had been introduced to him by this man. For Baelin, someone with land and an inheritance could be said to be an amazing person, and as a result, he was so shocked that he quickly greeted the baron, his head at his chest.

"So it's Baelin! Do your job well!"

Baron Joseph did not seem to have any interest in conversing with him, and instead bowed towards Leylin with a smile, "Well then, I'll leave it to you, Great Master Leylin!"

In order to settle down, Leylin had used mental spells as well as having left a very powerful image in Joseph's mind.

Hence, now that he had met with trouble that he could do nothing about, Joseph quickly came to Leylin as soon as he could.

"My lord! What happened?"

Baelin waited until Joseph left before asking.

"What else could it be other than to save that willful girl?" Leylin spoke indifferently, picking out a shining set of armour from the storeroom.

"Ooh, ooh! Oh! My lord, are you going to take action?"

As Leylin's shop assistant and semi-disciple, Baelin was very curious about Leylin's past and his power, extremely excited.

"Bring me, my lord! I'm sure you'll lack a servant in the Woody Wastelands, right?"

"Bring me! You have to bring me!"

Boom!* A large set of Knight's armour was thrown at Baelin. "Try it on!"

"Oh! Alright!" Wearing armour was part of training to become a knight. Baelin had trained a lot, but it was his first time officially wearing armour. He was so excited that he was slightly flushed.

This shiny armour unexpectedly fit him very well. There were even some patterns at the sides of the metal, and the leather plating underneath. Not only was it beautiful, it could also protect a few areas; Baelin loved it.

After training for such a long period of time, Baelin had also grown taller. He had beautiful muscles, and after wearing the armour, he looked extremely brave and courageous.

"How is it? I'm handsome, aren't I?" Baelin patted his chest narcissistically, and two pieces of metal struck each other, producing a loud sound.

"Next!" Leylin tossed a steel sword to Baelin, and after he had worn and put everything into place, Leylin nodded in satisfaction.

"I can relax now!"

"Of course! Huh? Relax? What about?" Baelin was bewildered.

"Young man, the mission to save the princess will fall to you?" Leylin tried to hold back his laughter, patting Baelin's shoulder while speaking in a heartfelt, meaningful manner. Baelin was stunned.

"Huh? Huh?! Me?! You want me to go to the Woody Wastelands alone?" Baelin finally reacted, pointing at his own nose.

"My lord, I'm not even a knight! Are you trying to kill me?"

"It can't be helped!" Leylin spread his hands, "Someone must stay behind to look after the shop! Youngsters like you need to be more energetic!"

"My lord, forgive me for my being so direct about this, but you sell but a few items per year. It doesn't make a difference whether you watch the shop or not. In addition, there's a large difference between being energetic and sending myself to my death!"

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Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud

"Don't worry. You're my employee after all; I won't just send you to your death like that."

Leylin waved his arms, saying things that were not helping Baelin calm down.

"I've already received more information. Jenny and the rest were trapped in a valley by Explosive Flaming Wolves, and temporarily will not meet with any danger…"

"I even prepared this for you!" Leylin passed a bag of medicinal powder to Baelin.

Baelin curiously sniffed at it, and then choked, sticking out his tongue, "What is this?"

"Stimulating medicinal powder! It can cover the smell of your live body scent and prevent the Explosive Flaming Wolves from finding you."

Leylin gave a brief explanation, and that alone caused Baelin to light up, looking at the bag in his hands like it was filled with gold coins.

"Think about it. If you sprinkle the powder on yourself and walk into the valley, you'll be able to rescue the princess easily. Reputation, power, money and even beautiful girls — they'll all be yours…" Leylin's voice was enticing.

"But…" Baelin struggled, but his tone was already not as resolute as before.

"No buts!" Leylin looked serious.

"This is an order. Baron Joseph has given me the rights to authorise this. To save Jenny, I can give out orders to any peasant of Potter Town!"

Leylin glanced at Baelin, obviously with bad intentions, "I remember that you're a free resident of Potter Town, am I right? Do you want to go now, or do you want to be demoted to a slave and then go?"

In the face of Leylin's methods using both the carrot and stick, Baelin could only raise his arms in protest, "All right, I'll go!"

"That's the way!" Leylin nodded in satisfaction.

That afternoon, Baelin had an expression like he was going to his death and, under the gazes of many residents of the town, he entered the Woody Wastelands.

Meanwhile, Leylin was lounging on a deck chair, his eyes closed as he took pleasure in the brightness given out from the sun stone. There was even a pot of hot tea and some snacks.

"A leisurely afternoon! I like this!"

Leylin contentedly poured himself a cup of black tea and blew away the rising steam.

"Shouldn't the Explosive Flaming Wolves have long since migrated from the Woody Wastelands? And they bumped into them? This is getting increasingly interesting…"

He felt reassured sending Baelin. Not taking into consideration the fact that Baelin was just one step away from becoming a Grand Knight, just the powder Leylin had given him was enough for Baelin to return unscathed, as well as save Jenny and her companions.

"But this is just the start!"

Leylin had a feeling that the power struggle in the circle of aristocracy around Jenny had become very troublesome. It would involve everyone around her involuntarily.

However, this level of trouble was just like a few children playing house. If not for him feeling quite bored, as well as needing a reason to enter the eastern capital, he wouldn't even bother playing with them.

The situation was just as Leylin predicted.

Two days later, Baelin energetically burst in, excitement apparent on his face.

"My lord, my lord, I did it! I successfully rescued Ms. Jenny and her companions! Haha… I'm a hero!"

"If you failed even with the powder I gave you, you'd be an idiot!" Leylin rolled his eyes, and then glanced at the entrance, "Are there customers?"

Next, Jenny, her butler, and the others walked in in a pitiful state. There was only one guard left, and his right arm was in a sling.

He could tell that they were in a difficult situation in the Woody Wastelands. However, they had directly come here without finding a chance to clean themselves first.

Though there was still some dust on her, Jenny's face was still quite clean as she curtsied towards Leylin, "I heard from Baelin that it was all thanks to Sir that he was able to save me. Jenny is here to express her thanks! Sir's powder is extremely miraculous, and even James couldn't tell what the components were."

"It's nothing much. It's part of my collection while I was still an adventurer!" Leylin put up his arm, evading any further explanations.

He was clear of the intentions this noble girl had in coming here. One part of this was to thank him, but more importantly, she was here to invite him to obtain the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud.

At this thought, Leylin shot a glance at Baelin.

Under his gaze, the young fellow ducked his head, embarrassed.

This naive young man betrayed Leylin after being taken in by Jenny and the rest, leaking the information that Leylin used to be a powerful adventurer.

"Mister…" Jenny's smile was forced as she ground her teeth, kneeling on the ground, "Sir! I'm here for the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud. It's not for my mother, but for my father. He…"

Then, there came the expected story of the power struggle between nobility.

The gist of it was that her two uncles coveted her father's position as Marquis, and had used a strange toxin to harm him. In order to heal her father, this young girl had no choice but to bring her butler and guards to search for a cure.

"Mister Leylin, my father is a benevolent and wise leader! If the title of Marquis and its associated territories were to fall into the hands of one of my uncles, the people under him would definitely meet with a calamity. Please help them…"

Jenny pleaded, giving a very thorough and brilliant act of a pure, kind-hearted innocent victim. Baelin had already clenched his fist, and Leylin kept shaking his head.

He naturally knew about the conflicts there were between the upper class. After growing up in that circle, even the most innocent child would be influenced.

Besides, could there be an absolute right or wrong in these power struggles?

On the surface, however, Leylin had a righteous expression, "I admire the kind and fair old Master Marquis. I am duty bound to help. Baelin!"

"Huh? Yes!" Baelin suddenly felt like something bad was going to happen. This was an intuition he had developed after being cheated by Leylin on countless occasions.

As expected, Leylin ordered, "Go accompany Miss Jenny and enter the Woody Wastelands again until you obtain the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud!"

"I knew it! I knew this would happen!"

Baelin roared in his heart, but upon seeing the grim look on Leylin's face and the pitiful young girl, he could not bring it upon himself to reject.

"Alright then…"

Letting Baelin help was evidently not on Jenny and the others' agenda. However, after seeing Leylin's courteous but obvious refusal, this bright young girl knew it was impossible to get Leylin himself to act. She could only retreat regretfully.

"Can you tell if he's a Magus?"

On the way, and after ensuring that there were no passers-by around them, Jenny spat out coldly. Her voice was cold, and her expression haughty. Where was that frail and delicate young girl seen only a few minutes back?

"I'm not sure. I couldn't tell! If an official lord Magus really wants to conceal himself in front of me, I definitely won't be able to tell at all!"

The butler, James, who was a level 3 acolyte, forced a laugh.

"Not being able to tell would be the best clue! A retired, powerful adventurer who was able to teach Baelin to become a knight in a year, his strength must be far beyond our imaginations!"

Jenny was astute.

"Not bad! I probed into this matter, and that young lad, Baelin, is quite lucky. The breathing technique he's training in is at least that used by Grand Knights."

James sighed in admiration. Upon hearing this, the eyes of the guard behind Jenny darkened.

He had risked his life for the Argus Family for so many years and gone through many loyalty tests before he was conferred a Knight's breathing technique. He was only lucky enough to advance after bloody battles, and listing to this story gave him the urge to kill Baelin.

However, he quickly buried this at the bottom of his heart, not daring to think about this further.

Supporting Baelin was a lord who seemed to be an official Magus! Even the Argus Family would not dare offend him.

Though the Argus Family was a Marquis family with a high standing, this was only so by regular people's standards.

In the eyes of Magi, the well-known Sun Vine Family was just as significant as a speck of dust.

Even in the entire Argus Family, there was only one rank 1 Magus whom they all respected. There was no need to choose who would be considered more important, an official Magus or a guard who was just a Knight!

"My Lord!"

After Jenny and her companions left, Baelin immediately gazed at Leylin with tears in his eyes, like a puppy that had been abandoned.

"Give it to me!" He stretched his hands out.

"What?"

"That secret potion, which is a powerful treasure! Don't you want me to obtain the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud?" Baelin thought it was only right that he received this.

Bang!* He was struck heavily on the head by Leylin's wooden sword, causing him to grimace from the pain.

"Baelin!" Leylin stood up, his tone sincere.

"After this experience, you should know where your strength lies, right?"

"Of course! Thanks to the guidance from my lord, I am now a Knight!"

Now that they were talking about business, Baelin's expression became solemn. Though he had gotten past the pack of Explosive Flaming Wolves with Leylin's powder, the Woody Wastelands had more dangers than just the wolves!

When he had split a large stork into two halves with a single strike, Baelin realised he had been played by Leylin. He had long since advanced to become a Knight!

In addition, through conversations with Jenny and the rest, he found out that Leylin had taught him very precious things!

Hence, though Baelin appeared frivolous out of habit, he revered Leylin more and more.

"Being a Knight is just the start, and it's not the end!"

Leylin put his hands behind his back, putting on the airs of a powerful person.

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