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?

11. 300

Read Warlock of the Magus World - Chapter 300 – Goat-Horned Earth Dragon online free - Light Novel Full

Goat-Horned Earth Dragon

"Your goal is to become a Grand Knight! The distant stars are your goal!"

Leylin's voice was filled with emotion, causing Baelin's blood to heat up.

"Though your Knight training method came from me and is said to be the best of the best even by the standards of Grand Knights, you lack something important that the strong possess!"

"The strong? Something important?" Confusion appeared on Baelin's face.

"Exactly! That is real bloody battles and confidence. The Knights who lacked the training methods you have developed their unrivalled confidence through constant bloody battles, smoothly stimulating their life energy and becoming Knights! You lack this process…"

"Hence, you need to take on an even more difficult task to stimulate your potential!"

Leylin's expression looked like he was trying to tell Baelin it was all for his own good. "How about it? Can you see what I'm doing for you?"

"Though I don't understand, it seems cool!" Baelin clenched his fists, "I'll work hard, my lord!"

Next, this little fool who had been duped by Leylin began to truly prepare to leave the following day.

Seeing him in a frenzy of preparation, Leylin shook his head as he gave a gentle smile.

"Youths really forget things quickly. He was duped so easily…"

However, to make use of Jenny, this noblewoman, to enter the capital, Leylin didn't mind helping them.

"Your sword…" Leylin took Baelin's steel sword, which he had been holding. Having gone through numerous forging, it still held a cold glint, but a chip the size of an ant had appeared on the blade.

This kind of nick could only be formed from countless strikes made by a Knight using his full power. It was evident that Baelin had met with more dangers in the Woody Wastelands than just those Explosive Flaming Wolves.

"What's wrong, my lord?" Baelin's expression displayed his puzzlement.

"This sword is too old and not suitable for your expedition. I'll give you a new one!" The corner of his lips lifted in a smile.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, my lord!" Baelin was so excited that he was almost incoherent in his gratitude.

After this battle, he finally discovered how difficult it was to groom a knight. On one hand, there was the secrecy of the breathing techniques, and on the other hand, there were the immense expenses in training and obtaining equipment.

Equipment forged by experts had a value of over 100 Gold. However, after explosively using his life essence a few times, a chip had appeared.

Wouldn't regular weapons have simply snapped?

Knights grew through battles, and he wondered how many of these weapons would have to be used for this growth.

Baelin had originally intended to repair this sword and continue to use it. After all, he was used to living in poverty and couldn't bear to waste resources. However, Leylin had simply given him another one!

"Don't worry, I'll send the bill to Ms. Jenny."

However, Leylin's next words caused Baelin's grateful heart to burst into smithereens, "She's the daughter of the Marquis and probably has more gold than their family will ever need. It doesn't matter if they pay a little, right?"

Leylin tossed a new sword to Baelin.

"Aw, my lord! Can't you let me continue to feel touched by your actions for a while longer?"

Baelin lamented, though his hands were not the least bit dissatisfied as he caught the sword.

Clang!* Baelin gently caressed the sword, the blue edge of the blade having detailed, complicated patterns, and a cold air was emitted from it.

Based on his intuition after working here for so many years, Baelin could tell this was absolutely one of the best steel swords in the shop.

What he didn't notice was that before his lamenting, Leylin's palm had stroked the blade of the sword and left behind a dull red imprint.

This imprint had been carved into the sword itself and disappeared, and Baelin had not noticed at all.

……

Jenny's team had rested and reorganized themselves in Potter Town and set off.

Though most of the adventurers and mercenaries who had followed her the last time had died or been injured, there was no lack of people who were so poor that they wanted to take the risk and strike it rich.

Jenny had simply given out a large amount of gold and gathered enough people. Of course, their strength was nothing much.

She had little choice. In Twilight Zone, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon was a very rarely seen high-energy being. Only recently had people found traces of it in the Woody Wasteland.

If she let this opportunity go, she had no idea when she would get another chance to come across it.

Even if Jenny could wait, Marquis Argus — who was being tormented by poison — could not wait that long!

"Baelin, we're depending on you!" There was another person in the group, and it was Baelin in his new armour. He had repaired it through the night, and he was somewhat able to continue using it. On his back was the sword that Leylin had messed with, giving him a very brave and formidable aura, and even caused some girls in the town to throw him coquettish glances.

Now, however, with just a word from Jenny, Baelin was elated.

Feeling the reverence of the adventurers around him, as well as the ardent pleas from the noble girl, Baelin felt like he had downed several bottles of strong alcohol, and was beginning to feel giddy.

"I never imagined I, Baelin, would have such an impressive moment!" Baelin nodded as he glanced at Jenny, admiration apparent in his gaze, "Don't worry, I'll definitely obtain the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud!"

"Sigh, that pitiful fellow!"

Seeing Baelin so crazy over his young miss, James, who was standing to one side, couldn't help but sigh under his breath.

So what if he was a Grand Knight? With the might of the Argus Family, they could easily summon a dozen of them! The person they really cared about was Sir Leylin, the person backing Baelin!

In Twilight Zone, only the mysterious lord Magi were suitable for his young miss to bow her head to.

"In addition, our young miss is an acolyte! Though her level is low, not just any regular person can do it."

James sighed even more deeply.

The aptitude to become a Magus was a very mysterious thing. However, after many years of research, Magi found that if one of the parents was a Magus, there was a high likelihood that their descendants would have an increased aptitude. If both were Magi, the chances of acolytes could even rise up to 33%!

In addition, within this group of acolytes, there was a higher chance of them having outstanding talent.

For this reason, unless there were exceptions, any females in noble families who had the aptitude to become a Magus were not allowed to marry outside of their family. Their only fate was to marry their close relatives and produce an heir who would have greater aptitude!

The Argus Family might be happy to have a female peasant with an aptitude to become a Magus marry into the family. However, they would absolutely not tolerate it if Magi in their family married outside, even if they were merely acolytes!

Of course, neither Baelin nor Jenny was thinking that far.

Even Baelin himself had automatically gotten serious after entering the Woody Wasteland, blindly hurrying in order to preserve energy.

He had grown up in Potter Town and naturally knew of the terrors here. Many areas that seemed to be safe ground might take the lives of any adventurer at any time.

He was Baelin, someone about to become a Grand Knight! How could he die here?

"There's something in front!"

All of a sudden, the team in front cheered, and Baelin immediately braced himself, approaching them.

"We discovered this! Come take a look!"

Jenny had changed into garments suitable for hunting and now looked more capable and experienced. She was now pointing at a large footprint on the ground as if she had seen some treasure.

Baelin crouched down. In front of him was a footprint almost a metre long.

The owner had left a very deep footprint, with four claw marks sunk deeply into the ground.

"There are five joints in the middle toe, and the smell is correct. This is it! This was left behind by a Goat-Horned Earth Dragon!"

James had also approached them. After using some strange item in his hands to probe it, he spoke to Jenny with conviction.

"What are we waiting for?"

She had a smile on her face. Though her target was right in front of her, she did not impatiently forge ahead.

"We'll find a place to set up camp for today! All scouts are to move out and follow the footprint, and you must find the lair of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon!"

Jenny's purpose in coming here was to obtain the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon. This special plant only coexisted with the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon, and it was hence necessary that they find its lair.

"I shall reward anyone who can find the lair of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon with a hundred gold coins!"

In order to find the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud as soon as possible, Jenny did not mind giving out large rewards, and it immediately resulted in loud roars.

Many adventurers who were originally not scouts left as well, wanting to try their luck. If they received this reward, and if combined with their own savings, they could practically retire already.

"They…" Baelin had a look on his face that showed he couldn't bear to watch these adventurers leave.

He was not an idiot. In contrast, he was rather intelligent and knew Jenny's intention in doing that.

These adventurers lacked strength or any special abilities. Their only function was to act as cannon fodder and bait!

Now that they had entered the territory within which the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon was active, they would inevitably attract its action with all these adventurers running around.

They would be able to find the dragon as long as they followed the blood-curdling screams or blood.

"It can't be helped, Baelin!" Jenny laughed bitterly, "I'll make it up to their families later…"

When the sun descended, three people did not return.

Jenny was overjoyed as she chased in the direction that the three had moved in.

"Here!" Baelin picked up a rock on the floor, his expression complicated as he looked at the blood stains and some bits of cloth on that stone.

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Pursuit

Under the bright, flickering torchlight, there were traces of the chaos that had occurred, such as blood and remnant flesh.

It was obvious that before having its meal, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon had toyed with its food.

At this sight, the faces of the adventurers around darkened.

Outside of this site, there was a long line of bloodstains, causing it to appear as a bloody trail.

"Follow it!"

With Jenny's command, the group lifted their torches and did as asked.

Twilight Zone was underground and was shrouded in darkness all year around. However, the surviving humans had yet to evolve and have night vision, thus, torches were one of the essential items when exploring in the Twilight Zone.

"The footprints are more concentrated here!"

Baelin lifted his torch with one hand, the other tightly grasping the handle of his steel sword. His joints had turned a little white from using too much strength.

A piercing stench was beginning to pervade the air, to the point that Baelin associated it with the time he had worked at a horse stable when he was younger.

Next, with the illumination by everyone, a small hill made of black rocks appeared. At the foot of the hill was a large cave that extended deeply into the side, hollowing it out.

"We can't fight it in its lair. We need to lure it out!"

Jenny decided after looking.

With this dim lighting, it was bound to affect the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud if they were to fight in the small lair. If the bud was damaged, there would be no point even if Jenny and the rest killed the dragon.

"Don't worry, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon has very low intelligence and is very sensitive to the smell of blood. We can use that and set up a trap."

James stood out at this moment and under his command, the adventurers set up a simple trap outside the cave.

As resources were limited and they couldn't alert the Earth Dragon inside, James chose the simplest trap — poison!

A black being that looked like a goat was forced to drink an entire bottle of a red potion, and was laid across the cave. Its four legs were tied together, and its main artery was slashed open causing fresh blood to spurt out. A small puddle of blood was quickly formed on the ground.

The adventurers beside it had long since put out their torches and patiently waited aside, not even daring to breathe loudly at this point.

Baelin's hands were on his sword, glancing at Jenny, who was extremely nervous, and James, who looked grim. He himself looked determined.

Thud thud! Thud thud!*

Only ten or so minutes passed, but in the hearts of everyone present, it felt like centuries had passed. Finally, just when the adventurers were beginning to get impatient, dull footsteps and slight tremors of the ground could be felt.

"It's here! Get ready!"

The adventurers who were lying in wait outside ducked their heads, retrieving their weapons and bow and arrows, aiming them at the mouth of the cave.

"Hah…"

The sounds of heavy breathing resounded, followed by an increase of the concentration of the strange smell by more than ten times! The goat that was bait could only give a miserable shriek.

Crunch! Crunch!*

Along with the sounds of chewing, the bleating of the goat stopped.

"Is this the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon?" As he was now a Knight, Baelin's eyesight was very good. With just the faint light, he could somewhat see the figure of this monster.

This monster was about fifteen to sixteen metres long, and its four thick limbs supported its large body, its sharp claws scratching out a long straight line on the ground.

Above its yellow eyes, two curved black horns were grown, like the symbol of a demon.

With the opening and closing of its mouth, sharp teeth constantly meshed together and chewed the goat into bits, flesh and blood flying.

"On my command. Go!"

James swung his arm, and a rock the size of a fist was thrown to the side of the dragon.

Rumble!*

Next, large amounts of light and warmth were produced from the stone, like a sun that had fallen to the earth.

Radiance dispelled the darkness and descended upon this piece of land.

"Roar… roar…"

Under the intense glare of the sunlight, the adventurers present closed their eyes, tears on the verge of falling.

The Goat-Horned Earth Dragon that was used to a life in darkness roared instantly became enraged.

"Quick! It has now been temporarily blinded. Move!"

Baelin was clear that when these beings used to the darkness suddenly came into contact with light, they would definitely be blinded for a period of time due to not being used to it, and this was the best time for them to make their move!

Besides, the function of the sun stone was to fill the area with light, which made it more helpful in allowing the group of them to exhibit their abilities!

"To create this chance, Potter Town gave out a year's supply of sun stones. What a waste!"

There were definitely many adventurers who thought the same way as Baelin, but this thought passed through their minds for a brief moment. Then they roared, brandishing the weapons in their hands and charged towards the huge monster in the middle of the site.

Under the illumination of the light, even the brown scales and veins on the muscles on the back of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon could be seen very clearly.

Xiu Xiu!*

The first to attack was a group of mercenaries with bows and arrows. They were obviously a team, wearing a set of uniform with ice-cold glints of their iron arrows being emitted.

The sharp arrowheads brought with them tremendous force as they pierced into the back of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon.

Ka-cha!* The Earth Dragon constantly snarled, and most of the arrows were flung away. However, there were a few that obstinately stayed on its back.

"Kill!" By this point, the adventurers had also charged to the front.

"Roar, roar!" The dragon thundered, suddenly turning back and flicking its tail!

The tail was like a large mace sweeping across the area, and the mercenaries that charged up flew away. A few were struck by the tail, and their blood dyed the sky.

"What an astute sense of hearing and smell!" Baelin exclaimed in admiration. The eyes of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon were very small and had almost completely degenerated. With the sudden piercing bright light, it couldn't see anything at all, but all beings that lived in the darkness naturally had their unique ways of distinguishing other objects.

Baelin stepped away, dodging the sweeping motion of the steel tail and raised his sword, a thin ring of light produced around him.

"Cross Blade!" In a moment, he used Leylin's secret killing technique for cross blades.

The immense light formed a cross, slashing towards the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon that was still snarling.

The fierce, immense air pressure attracted the attention of the Earth Dragon and it lifted its right forelimb, mercilessly clawing in Baelin's direction!

Large black claws clashed with the cross-shaped light, and the sound of glass shattering could be heard in the air.

"Roar…" The Earth Dragon kept snarling, its large black claws disintegrating the move and smacking towards Baelin.

"How powerful and quick!" Baelin exclaimed in admiration and used his sword as a shield in front of him.

Dang!*

The large claw and steel sword clashed, producing a loud sound and shock wave. Baeflin felt an immense force transmitting from the sword and the sword was almost sent flying.

"Ah!" He gritted his teeth, holding onto the sword for dear life, using the force from the dragon to fall back.

Roar!* The Earth Dragon was clearly enraged, once again brandishing its steel tail and chopping two mercenaries that had charged forward in two!

The two mercenaries howled, their halved bodies still squirming on the ground, intestines spilling out onto the ground. This gory scene immediately intimidated the rest of the mercenaries and adventurers and they retreated, not daring to take a step forward.

"What should we do? James, that Goat Honed Earth Dragon is almost about to return to its cave. We need to think of a way!"

"Soon! Soon!" James now had his eyes fixed on the dragon, constantly chanting.

"Roar!"

At that moment, the body of the Earth Dragon that had almost halfway returned suddenly changed! Bubbles of pus began to swell and burst, revealing yellow pus.

"Woo woo…" The Earth Dragon's voice became low and it began to wail in anguish.

"This is a high-energy bacteria solution especially brewed for the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon. It can lower the defence of its epidermis!"

James briefly explained to Jenny, quickly chanting some incantations.

A powerful undulation from energy particles was constantly produced from the old man, who had only seemed to be a butler.

"This is… a mysterious expert! So, Lord James is actually an esteemed Magus!" The adventurers around exclaimed.

In the subterranean world, Magi were widely known and worshipped.

"Mostar Corrosive Ball!" As the incantations ended, James waved his right arm.

A large blue ball arced in the sky, precisely landing on the back of the dragon.

The blue ball spread out, turning into large amounts of sky blue liquid that mixed with the yellow pus. Immediately, it produced a large amount of heat and began to corrode downwards.

"Roar!" The Earth Dragon's pitiful shrieks increased in pitch, and large amounts of steamed flesh fell from its back.

"What are you waiting for? This is the moment where its defence is at its weakest!"

James placed his hands behind him, looking like an expert. The adventurers seemed to have just awoken from a dream and charged forward once again.

This time, with James' work, the Earth Dragon's speed dropped, and the skin and scaly defensive layer had mostly disappeared. The mercenaries could easily slash and create a gaping wound with their weapons.

In just a moment, the entire situation was reversed.

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Breakthrough

"Wooh wooh…"

Under this attack, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon kept howling and suddenly turned. Uncaring of the serious injuries it had sustained and the people who were pursuing and attacking it, it crawled back into the cave!

"This is bad! It wants to escape!"

Jenny cried out in alarm, and she immediately brought out the bow and arrows which seemed hand-made, that had been on her back.

She took out a green arrow from her quiver, resting it on the bow.

Weng! Weng! Weng!*

One after another, the various rings she had on her hand began to light up.

"Precise Aim!" "Keen Edge!" "Gale Technique!"

All sorts of buffs were applied to Jenny.

"Miss- Miss Jenny is also a Magus?!" Baelin, who was not far away, gaped, thinking he might be in a dream.

Xiu!*

Jenny released the arrow in her hand, and a streak of green flew from the bow.

Pu!* The green arrow of light struck an eye of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon, resulting in a large amount of red, greenish blood spurting out.

"Roar!!!" The Earth Dragon turned back sharply, charging in Jenny's direction.

"Good! This is it!" Jenny's expression revealed her excitement.

"No, leave!" On the other hand, James at the side had paled.

"Roar!" The Goat-Horned Earth Dragon thundered, spitting out a black ball of light.

The large ball of light exploded mid-air, black droplets of flames sprinkling everywhere.

"Ah!" "My eyes!"

The black droplets landed on the mercenaries' bodies, instantly causing serious injuries. The many adventurers began to howl, and the circle which surrounded the dragon immediately had a hole.

Hah! Hah!* The Goat-Horned Earth Dragon stimulated its energy to every part of its body and it swelled, and its skin turned red.

Its speed rapidly increased and it charged in front of Jenny.

"Protect the miss!" The one surviving guard brandished his sword with his left arm and dashed forward.

Ka-cha!* The Earth Dragon opened its mouth full of sharp fangs and biting down, it had the knight in its mouth, constantly chewing. Blood and flesh fell from the gaps between its teeth.

"Ah…" Jenny was so shocked that her legs buckled, and she fell to the ground.

She was but a level 1 acolyte. That attack with the bow was only effective with the bonus from all the rings she had. After that attack, the pitiful amount of spiritual force she had was almost exhausted, and it was not possible to pull off another attack.

Jenny was now a fragile, helpless girl of the nobility as she was paralyzed on the ground, awaiting her unknown future.

"Awoo!" The Goat-Horned Earth Dragon did not have any thoughts of taking pity on her, opening its mouth wide. With its sharp teeth filled with flesh and blood, it snapped its jaws and made to bite her.

"Am I going to die? I'm sorry, Father…" Jenny's mouth was half open, a teardrop rolling from her right eye.

Dang!*

The acute pain she had been expecting did not appear, and Jenny opened her eyes, stunned. All she saw was a strong figure in front of her.

"Hey! In Knight stories, there will always be a knight appearing whenever the princess is in trouble, right?"

Baelin laughed, ruthlessly chopping forward with the sword in his hands!

The large steel sword hacked at the surface of the dragon's head, producing some sparks. Baelin bellowed, life essence bursting out. On the surface of the armour, there seemed to be a protective layer formed of light.

Roar!*

The Earth Dragon retreated a few steps, snarling at Baelin.

"Oh my! This is the real life version of a brave knight fighting against the evil dragon!" Baelin shot a glance at Jenny behind him, and then took a look at how much life essence he had left, a helpless smile about his lips.

Whoosh!*

A black figure constantly attacked the Earth Dragon, and everyone else could only see the dust flying at the centre of the site, as well as the constant howls from the dragon.

Under the immense pressure from the Earth Dragon, Baelin felt all that Lord Leylin had forced him to learn suddenly bursting out as he became more proficient at some techniques.

At this moment, he suddenly felt empty, as if he had lost all of the power he just had.

"The burst of power from the secret technique is used up, and my life essence has been exhausted!"

Baelin's heart sank, and a black shadow like a steel mace pierced through the armour of light, mercilessly slamming on his chest.

Ka-cha!* The steel armour caved in, and Baelin flew backwards, a large amount of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"No!"

At the moment he was about to die, he seemed to see the gigantic shadow of the Earth Dragon, as well as heard a sorrowful wail.

"What a short life! However, I have no more regrets!"

With a gentle smile, he froze into his image of Jenny crying hard while on the ground into his memory.

"How can my student die in such a pointless way?"

Just as Baelin was about to fall unconscious, time seemed to stop, and his surroundings turned black and white. His body seemed to be stuck in mid-air.

"It's Lord Leylin's voice! He's finally acknowledged me as his student!" Baelin was overjoyed, his thoughts on this while he was on the verge of death.

Next, he felt the steel sword on his right hand constantly becoming warmer till it became burning hot as if he was holding a soldering iron.

Weng Weng!* The sword constantly shook, and a crimson rune appeared on its own accord on the blade.

"Ahh!"

Baelin felt a stream of heat being transmitted from the steel sword, rushing to his lower abdomen where his life essence was congregated.

Bang!* Like the sound of a bottle exploding, the bottleneck to becoming a Grand Knight — the issue which had been bothering Baelin for a long period of time — was crossed!

Life energy that was at least ten times more powerful than before congregated from the life essence at his lower abdomen, and flowed through Baelin's limbs.

"Shaaa!"

Baelin held his sword and slashed forward. On the surface of the steel sword, red rays from the rune suddenly brightened, and the sheen from a sword streaked through the sky, appearing in front of the Earth Dragon.

Under the black and white rays that had frozen time, the Earth Dragon was motionless, allowing Baelin to aim a slash at its neck.

Whoosh!*

A cold wind blew, and the black and white faded, returning to the usual colourful world.

Ka-cha!*

A fine red line appeared at the Earth Dragon's neck.

This line began to spread till it covered the entire neck, and then reddish-green blood constantly flowed out, the gigantic head of the beast fell to the ground.

Rumble!* After losing its head, the huge body of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon crashed to the ground, like a little earthquake, causing a large amount of dust to fly.

"What happened to him?" Jenny felt a little dizzy.

"He broke through! He broke through the bottleneck of a Grand Knight!" James mumbled to himself, and then helped Jenny up.

"Haha, I knew I was a genius! How could I just die like this!"

Baelin, who had escaped death, patted his chest and began to laugh.

Seeing him in this state, Jenny felt there was a fire in her chest, almost causing it to explode.

"You idiot!" Jenny threw a white handkerchief at Baelin's face. Leaving him alone, she entered the cave with James.

"Why is she being like this?" Baelin held the handkerchief in a daze, bewildered.

The surviving mercenaries and adventurers silently cleaned the area.

They had lost a lot of people, and many of them were their friends or even family!

It was very quiet on the battlefield, and not one animal came to disturb the silence.

The sun's rays were extremely annoying for the beings that were used to the darkness. Potter Town of Twilight Zone had made use of this aversion and used the sun stones to disperse the creatures of darkness, and could thus develop.

James had considered this at the beginning when he threw out the sun stones.

Ten minutes later, Jenny and James came out with excitement.

"Is this the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud?"

Baelin noticed the plant that seemed like a flower in Jenny's hands.

This red flower was the size of a bowl, and there were webs that seemed like blood vessels and veins on the petals. It looked very bizarre.

Jenny carefully held the flower bud, as if she were holding some treasure that was as valuable as a city.

"Yes! With this, my father can be saved…" Jenny finally relaxed.

Ever since her father had been poisoned, immense pressure had been put on the shoulders of this young girl. Now, she could finally heave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you!" Jenny was so emotional that she hugged Baelin, leaving him stunned at the spot.

"And all of you!" Jenny turned back to the adventurers and mercenaries, "Your loyalty and devotion to your role has earned you your rewards! I will give out twice the amount promised, and five times that for those who have died!"

"Thank you so much, my lady!" "A kind and generous person!" "May the lord of darkness protect you!"

As expected, Jenny's declaration made everyone present cheer.

They packed up and began their journey back.

On the way back, Baelin kept swinging the steel sword in his hand, wanting to find any strange marks on it. However, after that one burst, this sword had used up all its energy, and no matter how much Baelin prodded it, it did not exhibit any strange features.

"What a fool! However, only a person with a one-track mind like him is suitable for my cross blade breathing technique!" Baelin's actions were all seen by Leylin, who was in Potter Town, through a transparent crystal, and he shook his head.

Beside him, a test tube full of reddish green liquid was thrown aside like rubbish.

"There's not even a sliver of a powerful bloodline in there! To think it even had the word "dragon" in its name!" Leylin sighed.

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Farewell

Not all myths and folklore were true.

On the contrary, many myths have been altered, some even to the extent of the subjective thoughts of the storyteller, hence they were unusually laid with errors.

Only Leylin's A.I. Chip could analyse and sieve out the most accurate version of the myth from the myriad of mythological information available.

As for now, after the blood analysis of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon, Leylin discovered that there wasn't a single trace of an ancient bloodline in it's blood!

Evidently, the myth of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon being borne from a giant dragon and another demonic creature was false!

However, Leylin did not harbour much hope from the start. Even if the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon were to contain traces of an ancient bloodline, this strength that did not even reach the stage of an official Magus did not fit his requirements at all.

Back in Nightless City, he was clear that even if he could obtain and purify the blood from creatures that contained an ancient bloodline, the creature had to be of a certain level to be of use.

As for this standard, after the analysis from the A.I. Chip, the conclusion was that these creatures needed to have the strength to at least rival a rank 3 Magus!

In other words, even if the Goat Horned Earth Dragon were to contain traces of an ancient bloodline, Leylin had to find one that was the equivalent of a rank 3 Magus. Then, with the help of the A.I. Chip, the purification of the ancient bloodline would be achieved.

"Aaah, a rank 3 Magus!"

Leylin smiled wryly; he had only recently advanced to a rank 2 Magus and the spiritual force he received from his meditation technique were extremely little. Most of the increase in spiritual force came from the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline.

Although there was nothing wrong with a Warlock relying on the strength of his bloodline, Leylin did not want his foundations to be unstable.

Furthermore, he had advanced to a rank 2 Magus by the age of 40. This speed was extremely astounding on the south coast. Even back in the ancient times, it was considered remarkable.

Hence, spending more time for a better foundation was something that he had to do.

As he was now, it was unlikely that he could win against a creature with strength equivalent to a rank 3 Magus, even with the help of his ancient bloodline. Those kinds of creatures were terrifying existences, to the point where most rank 3 Magi would not dare to face off against such creatures directly.

After a brief sigh, Leylin let go of the notion of collecting ancient bloodlines.

After all, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline was enough for him right now.

Moreover, even if he lucked upon another ancient creature's bloodline, it would only be a very valuable research material for him. Once a Warlock has chosen an ancient bloodline, there isn't any way to change it.

"However, things do not seem to stop here!"

Leylin, who was observing Jenny through the crystal ball, frowned as if discovering something.

Under the control of his spiritual force, the images in the crystal ball began to change from Jenny's party to the top of a different hill.

At this moment, under the shroud of darkness, there were two black figures conversing on the hill.

"Can't you do your job properly? You actually let them get the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud?"

The man who spoke had a gruffy voice and his silhouette was extremely fuzzy. He even wore a mask to hide his features.

However, Leylin's gaze pierced through the darkness and the mask to see the countenance of the man.

The face belonged to a sinister-looking old geezer that had a black skull branded on his forehead. It seemed to have been branded using a hot piece of metal. There were also writhing burn marks that filled the surroundings of the skull.

Moreover, there was an energy wave that was not weaker than James. He was a level 3 acolyte and apart from having no magic artifact, his strength was not below that of James.

"I… I did not want that to happen to…" The youth beside him shuddered, and even he started to stutter.

"The earlier Explosive Flaming Wolves were already extremely risky, if we were to strike again, they would most likely discover us. Moreover, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon was extremely difficult to lure… Your subordinate, I, thought that the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon alone would be enough to stop those people…"

"Although the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon was still in its adolescent stages, the might it had far exceeded that of a level 3 acolyte, only an official Magus would be able to take it down!"

The old geezer acknowledged the young man's deduction.

"So then, how did they manage to kill the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon?" The youth was puzzled. "Even if a Knight manages to breakthrough, he would at the very most be a Grand Knight, which wouldn't be enough to change the outcome…"

"I can sense that the air was filled with extremely strong energy waves… It's definitely a powerful existence aiding them secretly…"

The old geezer looked miserable. The strength revealed was only the corner of an iceberg, yet it could make his hairs stand on end. It felt as if as he had returned back to his life as a helpless child. He had this premonition that if this force wanted to kill him, it would not have any trouble at all. As for the ability to be able to do that, the person behind this force must have reached the might of a rank 1 Magus!

"What should we do? Should we continue?"

The frightened youth went into shock. He knew the identity of this old geezer, but this was an existence that could make even the old man tremble in fear. That existence ought to be an even more powerful magician.

Once he thought of this, cold sweat began to drip down his body. He had an urge to turn around and run, never to participate in such a mission again.

However, very soon he mocked himself for this thought. Being a covert member of this large organisation, how can one leave that easily? Just from the information he held at his fingertips, he was already familiar with the nature of the big boss. If one wants to run or retire, the only way to do it was to lie in a grave.

"No matter what, we cannot allow that girl to bring the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud back to the eastern region! This is the command of the big boss!" The old geezer was extremely stern.

"Let's go…"

His cloak swiveled as he vanished into the darkness with the young man.

"Interesting! How very interesting!"

Leylin smiled wryly after seeing this scene. He had no interest in the petty struggles of these mortals but felt rather intrigued by the one pulling the strings from behind.

Power determines everything! In this subterranean world, for the Argus Family to be this powerful, there must definitely be an official Magus supporting it from behind the scenes!

Perhaps, this is an opportunity to interact with the Magi in the subterranean world!

Leylin rubbed his chin and entered into a deep thought.

……

"Teacher! Teacher! I have returned!" Baelin dashed in quickly into the little shop with forge and anvils, smiling triumphantly. "I have also advanced into a Grand Knight and plucked the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud for Jenny!"

As for Leylin, he sat at the counter concentrating on brewing his tea filled with yellow fellow petals and green buds, all this while not lifting his head.

"After cultivating in the breathing technique I've taught you, you managed to advance into a Grand Knight only now? What a big idiot you are! Also, when have I ever accepted you as my disciple?"

Baelin's smile turned stiff.

"So… So when I slain that Goat-Horned Earth Dragon I heard your voice!"

The youth began to mutter to himself, "Back then you have admitted that I was your student, and even helped me to defeat…Argh!"

Pak!* Leylin used a vine to lash at Baelin's head.

"This is your imagination, kiddo! Want to be my student? Cultivate for another ten thousand years first!"

Under the relentless verbal abuse, Baelin's head drooped.

He was extremely embarrassed now and had the urge to find a hole and hide in it. After slaying the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon, he knew that he had hallucinated, but he still wished to make use of this opportunity to make Leylin his master. These were also incited by Jenny and James.

Evidently, this shameless plan of his failed!

Leylin would never acknowledge him as his student, which left Baelin standing there, not knowing what to say.

"Haha… Mister Leylin is really a strict teacher!"

At this moment, Jenny walked in and reduced the awkwardness for Baelin.

"I am just educating this silly little chap!" Leylin smiled humbly.

As for Baelin, he heaved a sigh of relief and stood at the side.

"Actually… For Baelin to be able to advance to a Grand Knight at his age, he is considered to have a remarkable talent! Even in the aspects of the more mysterious arts, I believe he will have exceptionally great talent…" Jenny deliberated, "Mister, why don't you give him a chance?"

Although Baelin did not quite understand what Jenny meant, he still looked gratefully at Jenny.

"I am rather strict when it comes to the selection of my students!" Leylin shook his head and expressed his rejection on the matter.

Hearing that, Baelin lowered his head again.

As for Jenny, she could only give a comforting gaze to him.

"Your purpose of coming here wouldn't only be to speak about this, would it?" Leylin sipped on his tea, with no intention to brewing a cup for Jenny as he asked.

"Actually, picking the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud was only made possible with the help of Mister Leylin. Also, regarding the Explosive Flaming Wolves, I have come here to express my heartfelt appreciation!"

Jenny curtsied and smiled wryly, "With your capabilities, Mister, I don't think I can offer you anything that you'll need. However, in the future should you require the assistance of the Argus Family, please send along your requests! I, Jenny Argus, solemnly swear by the name of the Sun Vines, that I will not refuse your bidding!"

Jenny's face turned solemn as she made an oath.

"Also, I have come here to bid farewell to you, Mister!"

"Wait!" Before Leylin could speak, Baelin opened his mouth in shocked, "Jenny, you… you're leaving?"

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The Resolution Of A Youth

"Yes!" Jenny nodded.

"The Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud will perish soon, and my father will not be able to hold on much longer with his illness!"

"Alright then! I wish you a safe journey back to your home!" Baelin smiled with reluctance.

"Thank you!" Jenny did not speak further.

"Alright! The eastern capital is where the Argus Family is, I will pay a visit in the future!" Leylin sipped on his tea and stretched his right hand, gesturing as a gentleman.

"If Mister can come, then it would be the happiest thing that happened to Jenny!"

Jenny smiled, "How about returning home with me? My father would definitely be excited to be your acquaintance!" She looked at Baelin, "Of course, big brother Baelin, can come too!"

Hearing this, Baelin grew nervous as he looked eagerly at Leylin.

"My apologies! I have no desires to travel right now!" Leylin declined without hesitation, once again making Baelin look down in dismay.

Hearing this, Jenny turned silent for a moment, before she curtsied and took her leave.

"What's wrong? If you have nothing else to do then get to work!"

Leylin roared at Baelin.

"Yes, Boss!" Baelin replied dispiritedly.

"Hehe… Youths!"

Leylin grinned silently.

This eastern region was one he would definitely pay a visit to. It was not only the centre of the mortals' government, but it was also a gathering place for the Magi. It was rumoured to have large scale magic bazaars too.

However, going there of his own choice and being invited were two entirely different concepts.

With Leylin's strength right now, he could do whatever he liked, but it would often attract some unwanted problems.

Furthermore, his injuries had not healed completely. Before finding enough methods to curb the emotional instabilities of Warlocks, he did not wish to have a high profile.

Hence, entering the area inhabited by Magi in the eastern region through the Argus family, was a wise choice.

Through the earlier spying done, Leylin had guessed that Jenny's road back home would not be smooth sailing. Evidently, Jenny had the same feeling, hence she invited Leylin to travel back with her.

Leylin understood that the most precious things were often unobtainable. Hence he would let Jenny encounter setbacks and beg him before he would help her, creating a false impression in front of her.

Moreover, there was an even better reason now!

Leylin glanced at Baelin who was nurturing his sorrow at the side before his lips curled up at one corner of his mouth.

A Magus who was fed up with the dangerous Magus world and was starting to live in seclusion under his apprentice's involvement with a girl, would once again enter the fray of the Magus world. Yes, it seemed like a pretty good excuse to return!

As for the age? Magi never bothered with appearances nor age.

As for Leylin, he could also use his bloodline to change his aura, eyes, body shape and appearances in minute proportions, allowing him to look much older than he was. This was enough to fool many Magi.

……

Jenny journeyed with haste. Once she left the town after bidding Leylin farewell, she continued her journey hurriedly.

"Why? You wish to go after her?"

Looking at the horse carriage that was gradually turning smaller in the horizon, Baelin stood rooted to the spot. Leylin could not help himself but mock him.

Provoking this youth daily was part of Leylin's amusement outside of his cultivation and research.

"I'll definitely go to the eastern capital. Definitely, but not now!" A flame of hope seemed to start burning in Baelin's eyes.

"Boss! No, my lord! Please train me more rigorously! I want to be a man whose name will shake the eastern region, and then look for Jenny there with these achievements."

Baelin half-knelt on the ground, a great ambition, and thirst for power burning in his eyes!

"Haha, that's good! I like that look in your eyes! Don't worry, I'll give you an even more 'rigorous' training… " Leylin seemed to be harbouring some evil designs.

Originally, in such situations, perhaps a young man from a small town would train himself for many years and would then enter the eastern capital, and then take the Marquis' daughter as his wife. It would be just another common occurrence.

But it was unfortunate — or perhaps one could call it inspiring — that, contrary to Baelin's own expectations, he would soon be reunited with Jenny!

The night that Jenny left, Baelin, who had been tortured by Leylin for an entire day and was about to crawl into his pitiful bed and get some sleep, was woken up by the sound of a fierce banging on the door.

"Baelin! Lord Leylin!" This was a woman's voice, filled with fear, and it also belonged to the voice of someone Baelin would never forget.

"It's Jenny!" He quickly got up at lightning speed and opened the entrance to the shop.

Jenny was standing covered in blood, with James lying on the ground. However, there was a large hole on this poor old man's chest, with some arrows on his back. By the looks of it, he would not be able to live past tonight.

"Baelin, get Lord Leylin! Save…"

Upon seeing Baelin, Jenny relaxed and immediately collapsed in a dead faint.

"Hey! Who's going to tell me what's going on here?" Seeing the soft female body in his arms, Baelin looked ready to break down.

Wait! Wasn't this how it usually went in tales involving Knights?

Where was the counterattack? Where was the wait? Where was the whole thing about meeting in the capital?

Baelin hugged Jenny tightly, his mind unable to work.

However, at this point, a warm blood gushed out and spilled into Baelin's hands, causing him to come back to himself.

"Lord Leylin, we have a problem!" The fearful, hoarse voice of the young man seemed to resound throughout Potter Town.

Blood and flames! The glinting from a knife, and then the dazzling rays from rank 0 spells!

This was the last thing James had seen.

Though he had long since known of the malicious ways of Jenny's two uncles, he had never imagined that they would be so gutsy as to ambush them right in the open, that too on the main street!

Under the sudden attack, Jenny's temporary guards could not even withstand a single blow.

If not for them relying on the Marquis' magic artifact that the Madam had secretly left behind for their use before they left, he and Jenny would not even be able to flee!

After that, they returned to Potter Town, escaping and fighting back on the way.

James had simply fainted after telling Jenny to obtain Sir Leylin's help.

"This is…"

James opened his eyes, bewildered as he stared at the yellow light and the ceiling that he did not recognise.

"Sir James, you're awake!" Baelin, who was at the side, quickly came over and tipped a bowl of green liquid into his mouth.

"Ugh…" Within the green liquid, there were numerous roots and suspicious things that looked like bugs floating on top. It looked extremely disgusting and the smell that seemed to come from a sewer assaulted his nostrils, almost causing this old man to black out.

"What's this?" After being forced to drink two large gulps, James finally got the chance to push away the large bowl in Baelin's hands.

He swore that even if he were to die, he would not want to smell this thing again.

"It's some herbal medicine that Lord Leylin instructed me to boil. It's very helpful towards your injuries!" Baelin pushed the bowl towards him, looking helpful.

"No, thank you so much for your help! Does this mean that I'm in Mister Leylin's shop? How is the young miss?"

James immediately asked.

"Don't worry, Jenny is very safe!" Baelin was a little confused, "Do you think you could tell me what happened?"

He was extremely curious towards the events that had befallen on them, but he felt sorry if he were to call Jenny awake, which was why he was still rather confused about the situation.

"What else could have happened?" James forced out a smile, and then gave a short summary of how Jenny's two uncles had arranged an ambush.

"That's vile!" Baelin felt aggrieved as he mumbled and then pounded on the table.

Pak!* The sudden force that exploded caused the wooden table to be fall apart.

This loud sound also attracted the attention of another person.

"Sir Leylin, it's all thanks to you this time!" After seeing Leylin enter, James struggled to get up and bowed.

James himself knew how severely injured he was. After all, it was caused by another level 3 acolyte.

However, being able to treat such injuries, Leylin's identity had even become more mysterious.

"James, you are still sustaining injuries, so no need for such formalities!" Leylin smiled gently before tapping on Baelin's head.

"Let us step out and let James have some more rest…"

"Oh! Okay!" Baelin who seemed to be dreaming got up and as he stepped through the door, he comforted James. "Sir James, you should recuperate here quietly, we're safe here…"

"Of course! I have no doubts about that!"

James replied. How can a place that had an official Magus not be safe? If so, are there any safer places out there?

Apart from that, if Leylin wished to help them, Jenny and those two uncles of hers caught in the internal strife were only as significant as specks of dust.

"But what should we do to get Mister Leylin to help us?" James pondered.

Through some discreet inquiries made during this period, he had a little more understanding of Leylin.

Amongst the people that James knew, this Lord Leylin was aloof, proud and disliked troublesome matters, hence he seldom appeared in public places. The mortal items were just like floating clouds to him.

Apart from training Baelin each day, there was no other recreation that Leylin would partake in.

"Baelin! Right, Baelin!" James clapped his hands, an indescribable light in his eyes…

……

"Speak! What's the matter?"

Leylin looked at Baelin, who seemed to be struggling within during the journey to the training grounds, and smiled.

"My lord, I'd like to take your leave for a period of time and escort Miss Jenny to the eastern capital!"

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Hitchhike

The young man's voice was resolute; his fists were clenched and his face flushed. Faint rays of light radiated from his body.

"So stubborn. Are you sure you won't go back on your words? The moment you go to the eastern capital, I probably will no longer teach you!"

Leylin had a toying expression on his face.

"A Grand Knight isn't anything much. There are probably a whole dozen in Jenny's family. Let's not even talk about the dangers on the way that will probably cause you to lose your life. What are you planning to do after you send her back? Be a captain of some guards at the Argus Family? Or perhaps, even worse, become a mercenary?"

"Have you thought of all these?"

Leylin asked.

Baelin had turned pale, but his voice was steady, "I know all that! But… but if I don't send Jenny home safely, my heart will never be at ease. I know this for sure…"

"Fine! You can leave, but you are to never return."

Leylin looked at this toy of his that was full of righteousness and gave an ultimatum before returning to his room.

Boom!*

The door slammed shut, leaving Baelin standing outside, silently.

"Thank you, Baelin!" At this moment, a small, cold hand covered Baelin's calloused palm.

"Jen..Jenny, you…" Baelin began to stutter as he spoke.

A finger that was equally icy — and was rather fragrant — was placed upon Baelin's lips.

"You don't need to say anything else!"

Jenny mumbled, and then rested her head on Baelin's shoulders.

"When I was younger, what I liked the most was leaning against my Father's body and resting my head on his chest. Now, can you lend me your shoulders to rest on for a while?"

"Of-of course. It'll be my pleasure to…" Baelin stood there in a daze, his nostrils breathing in the fragrance from Jenny's hair. He did not dare move even a muscle.

……

A night passed and Baelin looked at his crush who had left his side, and also the trace of dampness on his shoulders, before smiling wryly.

"Let us set off!"

On a mini horse-carriage carrying goods, Baelin wore rugged cloth and dressed as a horse keeper. As for Jenny and James, they were hiding inside a compartment of the horse carriage.

On the four sides of the horse carriage, large torches were lit, dispelling the darkness in the surroundings.

"Don't worry! They won't be able to discover you!" Baelin tried his best to console them.

As for Jenny and James, they could only look at each other and smile wryly.

As the Lord Marquis's condition was worsening, Jenny and James only had a short respite to nurture their wounds before continuing on the journey.

Their employed adventurers and mercenaries were slain in the earlier journey, which made it obvious to everyone that someone was obstructing Jenny and her party. There were no more fools stepping forward to be their valiant protectors.

Furthermore, even the Baron who had lost a Knight and most of his elite troops felt a deep remorse. The way he looked at Jenny now was as if he was seeing the god of plague.

To him, the sooner Jenna — who was like a magnet for bad fortune — left, the better it was. In any case, it would be best that none of the incidents were to happen in the area he oversaw so that he can be acquitted of the blame.

This attitude was even more apparent after he received an anonymous letter from the eastern capital. It was to the extent of rejecting to grant Jenny an audience with him.

In this feudalistic area, it was like many small kingdoms which were independent. After seeing the Baron act this way, all of the Potter Town's citizens did not offer any help to Jenny thereafter.

For this small horse carriage, Baelin had to fork out three times of the market price to purchase it.

The seller even stressed that he would only sell to Baelin; he did not want to even have a buyer-seller relation with Jenny!

They simply had no confidence that Baelin could complete this simple purchase!

However, what else could they have done to ensure their safety?

Looking at the shops selling torches and the weaponry shop which were closed, Jenny and James were in dismay. As for Baelin, he looked even sadder.

However, he clenched his teeth and looked at Jenny sitting behind him, before cracking his whip.

Pa!*

The horse carriage began to move, taking the three passengers out of this town.

"Wait a minute, can I hitch a ride?"

Just when the town behind Baelin gradually grew smaller and when his indecisiveness was at its peak, he heard a voice that sounded heavenly to the ears.

"Bo…Boss!"

Baelin rubbed his eyes and looked at Leylin wearing black robes with a small knapsack. Immediately, his eyes were filled with guilt and excitement, relief and many other expressions.

"Lord Leylin! We're extremely grateful for you coming with us!"

At this moment, Jenny and James popped out from the narrow compartment of the horse carriage and smiled, as if relieved of a heavy burden.

From the looks of it, if this mysterious Mister Leylin was to join them, what more did they need to worry about?

It was evident that Jenny and James had joy on their faces no matter how hard they tried to conceal it.

Through Baelin, they have successfully made Leylin, this mysterious person who was most likely a Magus, come with them. Even after returning to the eastern region, involving Leylin in their scheme was extremely beneficial!

As for these petty schemes, Leylin had not even needed to guess before he knew their train of thoughts. However, he did not express it explicitly and allowed Baelin to escort him up the carriage.

With this powerful expert Leylin holding the fort, the other three felt much better in an instant.

They threw away all that was used to conceal themselves, and also changed the interior of the horse carriage to make it seem like it was carrying passengers instead of goods. They no longer had to squeeze into that small space throughout the journey.

Da Da Da!*

The wheels of the horse carriage spun as the two old horses galloped with all their might to travel forth.

"Master Leylin, why are you willing to give up on your shop and come with me to the eastern capital?"

Baelin glanced at Leylin who was resting at a side, restraining himself as much as he could before he asked.

"Of course it's for you, you fool! How can I be reassured if I let you go alone?"

Leylin opened his eyes and spoke indifferently.

"Bo-boss, I'm so touched…" Baelin choked with emotion, sparkling tears gathering in his eyes.

"If you thought I'd say something like that, you're gravely mistaken!" Immediately after, Leylin's next words caused Baelin to be stunned.

"Business at Blazing Hammers is not doing well. I've been wanting to go to the eastern capital and find a suitable place to do some business or open a branch. Since you're going, I'll go too since you're already going there."

"No, you must be lying to me! You must be here because you're worried about me, right Boss?"

Baelin looked ready to breakdown, while Jenny and James looked like they wanted to laugh, but did not dare do so.

"Just think whatever you want to think."

Leylin stared, speechless, at this fellow who was a bit too egotistical.

He spoke indifferently and snuggled into his clothes, seemingly entering a deep sleep.

However, in his heart, he thought, "A.I. Chip, show me my current stats!"

[Beep! Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 21.1, Agility: 14.4, Vitality: 27.9, Spiritual force: 77 (104.3), Magic power: 77 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force) Status: Sea of consciousness is fragmented. Part of spiritual force is solidified.]

Over these two years, Leylin constantly used potions to heal his injuries. At this point, the injuries on his body had mostly recovered.

However, healing the damage done to his sea of consciousness and his spiritual force was a very slow process, causing Leylin to start feeling impatient.

Hence, after his emotions due to his Warlock bloodline had erupted, he had decided to go to the eastern capital and find a way to increase the rate of this process.

After expelling the mark from the rank 3 Magus Alric, he could now release part of his spiritual force and return his strength to that of a peak rank 1 Magus.

Whether in the south coast or in Twilight Zone, Magi with this power could go on a rampage. As long as one did not meet with a Magus above rank 2, they were basically tyrants!

Though the Twilight Zone had a lot of high-grade meditation techniques, there were still some differences in the overall strength as compared to the south coast.

Leylin, who also trained in a high-grade meditation technique, was very clear about these differences.

The high-grade meditation techniques passed down from ancient Magi could help a Magus get stronger at every rank with all sorts of amazing powers along the way, but there were still a few obvious disadvantages!

After training up to a certain point, regular mortal resources were of no use to them, and only bizarre or even items from another world would be able to help one progress in one's meditation technique. If not, one would get stuck at some point.

In ancient times, Magi took over world after world and amassed vast amounts of resources. Also, the connection between Twilight Zone and the external world still existed, so this wasn't a problem. However, the troublesome matter was: Not only had Twilight Zone lost its supply of resources from other worlds, it had even lost contact with the subterranean world itself!

Certain high-grade meditation techniques were extremely harsh when it came to the materials needed, and they also could not be substituted!

Hence, though the percentage of Magi here was a lot higher than in the south coast, there was probably the same number of rank 2 Magi on both sides.

As for rank 3 Magi, Leylin guessed they would be even lesser in number here than in the south coast!

After all, the higher the rank of a Magus, the rarer the materials they needed. This was even more so for Magi who used high-grade meditation techniques.

Without the help from these precious resources, Magi could only use time and make the occasional tiny amount of progress in these techniques. Such a speed would be enough to make a Magus have a nervous breakdown.

Most Magi used most of their lifetime and still could not break through the first level of their meditation technique, and were filled with unwillingness to accept their fate and were full of regrets at the time of their deaths!

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Stationed Troops

But Leylin's advanced meditation technique, Kemoyin's Pupil, also required specific resources. If it wasn't for the fact that he got his hands on the meat of the ancient Thousand Eyed Starfish by pure luck, then even Leylin had no clue how long it would have taken him to completely remodel his heart, and thereby become a rank 2 Magus.

Besides, compared to other advanced meditation techniques, the criteria for Warlocks were much harsher!

One mustn't forget — to train in Kemoyin's Pupil, one must first possess the ancient bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent!

Just this one prerequisite was enough to stump most acolytes!

Whether it was the south coast or Twilight Zone, there were very few beings with ancient bloodlines. They were practically extinct!

Any acolyte that wanted to obtain a bit of the essence from an ancient bloodline would find this task even more difficult than advancing to become an official Magus!

Take Kemoyin's Pupil for example. If one does not try to obtain the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Snake or the Black Horrall Snake and instead settled for the next best thing, even getting blood from the matured Mankestre Snake, which had the strength of an official Magus, was an impossible task for level 3 acolytes!

High-grade meditation techniques had very harsh requirements, and they were not something that Magi from remote areas, such as the Twilight Zone, could fulfill.

Hence, though there were more ancient inheritances left behind here than in the south coast, the power on both sides was about the same, or perhaps the Twilight Zone's power was inferior to the south coast's.

"With the passage of time, everything is advancing!"

Having thought this through, Leylin couldn't help but sigh.

Though the south coast had not been able to gain the full inheritance, the Magi of the younger generations were just as talented and as good as the ancient Magi were at researching.

In a situation where they lacked specific resources, they had independently come up with another way for Magi to advance: using Grime Water and breaking through by way of stimulation through a rank 1 spell model.

Though this took a toll on a Magus' life force and even hindered their future, the price to rise to rank 1 and 2 was still affordable.

At least compared to high-grade meditation techniques which required precious materials, though there were many needs for resources using this simplified version, these could be satisfied using materials from the south coast itself. This had thus allowed for the prosperity of the south coast.

The top-grade materials were all gathered and collectively provided to Magi with high-grade meditation techniques, guaranteeing that they could develop their top-notch battle power and maintain their governance.

"Things are improving over time! Though the choice of the Magi in the south coast in using the simplified version was not the best choice, it was likely the most suitable for the land of the south coast."

Leylin sighed.

Although the amount of ancient inheritances on the south coast were not incomparable with those in Twilight Zone, he had never seen so many Magi who were so fixated on the power of the ancient Magi. They would kill each other in order to receive even a part of a broken inheritance.

"But the Magi of the Twilight Zone have a lot of Magi training in high-grade meditation techniques, which proves that there must be even more resources from ancient times here than in the south coast. This might be a chance for me!"

Leylin brightened up.

For him, gathering high-grade meditation techniques, filling up his database, completing Sacred Flame, and simulating the content of the fourth level of Kemoyin's Pupil were some of his goals. His other purpose was to gain precious materials from the subterranean world, as well as items that might be helpful in progressing in high-grade meditation techniques.

"Be careful now, the hills which we were ambushed previously are ahead!"

At this moment, James spoke and broke the silence.

Baelin immediately gripped his longsword. As for Leylin, he did not even budge an inch.

To him, an ambush from a level 3 acolyte was just a joke!

The horse carriage continued forward, and very soon, hills surrounded them on both sides. The large trees which grew to the skies projected sinister-looking shadows on the ground, which was also the perfect place for an ambush.

On the ground, there were large amounts of footprints and traces of blood; even the surrounding rocks and trees were covered with numerous arrows and scars made from sword slashes.

Although the ambush happened some time ago, even with people covering up the tracks, it was not too difficult to imagine the gruesome scene that had happened.

Upon seeing all of this, Jenny's body quivered and she immediately went back to the horse carriage.

As for James, he heaved a sigh, "Miss Jenny is but a fifteen-year-old girl. All of this is too grim and too early for her…"

"Since she was born and raised in a noble family, she has enjoyed the elegant lifestyle and glory of being a noble. However, she also must undertake the responsibilities of one, regardless of her age or gender. This is her calling…"

At this moment, Leylin who had been simulating the high-grade meditation technique Sacred Flame spoke with wisdom.

"Lord Leylin's words possess a philosophical element to them!"

James smiled and praised, but Leylin eyes lit up.

Just then, he had tried a different simulation of the Sacred Flame. After hearing James speak, he replied with his own feelings. However, when he did so, there was no doubt behind his words.

"Is this the power of Lady Fate? I seem to have glimpse part of her silhouette

Leylin grinned.

He already had some understanding that Sacred Flame was linked with the powers of destiny. The way to advance was also extremely bizarre. One had to absorb a mysterious item at the peak of where destinies clash before advancing.

As for fate, it revolved around the world.

It is no surprise then that in legends many heroes were always supported by one or two Magi who could read prophecies. It was all for mutual benefits.

Only by being with these 'main characters' who were destined for great things would the powerful strength of destinies converge.

Every time they were to make a huge decision, it was when the convergence of fate was at its peak. For Magi cultivating in this high-grade meditation technique, they first had to appreciate this great power and even be swept by it. To these 'children of destinies', the Magi had to attempt and adapt to change the outcome. During this progress, they often had to obtain mysterious, yet specific, items in order to advance and level-up their meditation technique.

"Fate and foretelling! What wondrous might!"

Leylin's gaze swept past Baelin, Jenny, and James. It seemed like, amongst these three, there was someone who would be able to change the entire history of the Twilight Zone!

However, as Leylin had merely simulated Sacred Flame and did not actually train in this meditation technique, as well as it being incomplete, he could not tell who would be the person to change history.

Even so, Leylin knew for sure that the methods of the Botelli Family in using their ancestors' spirits by force was a very malicious practice!

"Sacred Flame! What a wondrous meditation technique!" Leylin could tell that even in ancient times, high-grade meditation techniques that could foretell the future were very, very rare.

However, he had no intentions of changing his meditation technique!

Not taking into consideration the incompleteness of the meditation technique itself, Jenna's strange demise was still vivid in his mind. He did not want to become the next Jenna. Besides, he did not trust this ability that could tell the future. In Leylin's eyes, the future constantly changed and could not be fathomed. Even if he could occasionally catch hold of a few scenes, it did not necessarily mean that he could control the future.

This was a difference in philosophy, and one where Magi had the most varied opinions!

For this reason, even if Leylin changed his meditation technique to train in Sacred Flame, he would definitely not be enlightened and might even cause significant damage to his sea of consciousness due to the technique itself.

However, Leylin was still drooling at the mouth within his heart about this ability.

Even though the prophecies might be false, under many circumstances they were important references and supplementary information sources.

"Perhaps after completing the Sacred Flame technique and propagating it, I can strip off some of the power from the people who have cultivated in it and create some some item with magical properties."

Leylin suddenly came up with an idea, and the moment it was formed, it took root deep in his mind.

"Exactly! If I do this, while training, I can still see the situation and obtain information firsthand and constantly perfect the technique. Even if I fail, I'll only lose some spiritual force and a bunch of resources, but I won't suffer much damage. If I succeed, I'll be the envy of even rank 3 Magi."

The carriage passed a hill with no troubles and then came to a field.

James and Baelin, who had been extremely nervous and on edge the entire time, heaved sighs of relief.

It was impossible for them to be ambushed on flat ground, which was why they could relax.

Lu lu!*

Just as Leylin was pondering about his thoughts, the sounds of horses galloping from a far distance could be heard. A bright ray of light appeared on the horizon far away, and it quickly turned into a black cloud.

Many Knights wearing black leather armour on dark horses charged swiftly like a hurricane. They held onto the reins with their right hands and in their left hands they held onto blazing torches.

Very soon, many Knights surrounded the small horse carriage that Baelin's party was in.

"Garrison troops from the Lilan castle? Madmen! Crazy! They actually deployed troops to surround us…"

There was incomparable fear on James' face before it quickly turned into despair.

Magi were extremely powerful and could regard regular humans as ants. However, this scenario of surrounding regular people using troops was different.

To high level Magi, no matter how many regular humans there were, it was but one more death word for them. Just the radiation emitted from Magi's bodies would leave the regular humans to die in anguish.

However, James, who was an acolyte, did not have such terrifying strength.

He had once thought of a scenario: if he were faced with a hundred or less troops, he could deploy guerilla warfare and kill them all. However, if there were more, he would not be able to do that.

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Chapter 307 Earthquake

A Magus' spiritual force and magic power were not infinite.

Even if they had extraordinary strength, they would still suffer from natural limitations.

Even if James was a level 3 acolyte, when faced with a troop of a hundred elite soldiers, he could only retreat.

The opponent's side had too many people, and even if they lined up for him to kill them, his pitiful amount of spiritual force and magic power would not be sufficient to kill them all.

And if these soldiers were all replaced with cavalrymen?

Hopelessness had already started invading James' heart. Being surrounded by that many cavalryman, the most he could do was to escape by himself with that magic artifact of his, leaving behind Jenny.

But, we have Lord Leylin with us now. There shouldn't be any problem.

James glanced at Leylin and forced himself to calm down.

A situation where a squadron composed of magicians and civilian troops fighting each other has never before occurred in the history of Twilight Zone.

After all, no lord would stupidly provoke an official Magus.

Moreover, as far as Magi were concerned, they could use stealth and cast spells and could easily end the life of the perpetrator, so why should he unnecessarily waste his time?

If Lord Leylin really was an official Magus, then they need not be worried about this danger.

James inwardly comforted himself with these encouraging thoughts, and then he heard Baelin's nervous, almost-filled-with-fear voice asking, "Who are you all?"

Although he had advanced and become a Grand Knight, but it was evident that his attitude had not adjusted to this fact. After looking at the expressionless and dense army, the small city resident's heart welled up with fear.

With the horses neighing in the background, a small path opened up among the ranks of the calvary. An old fellow wearing a black Chinese suit, and with the mark of a human skull on his forehead, walked out.

"Rhodes, it really is you! You went as far as to dare station some troops here, are you not worried about being punished?" The expression on James' face was an odd mixture of fury and regret.

"My beloved older brother, it is me!" Rhodes sneered.

"Older brother?" The stunned Baelin had only now discovered that if that sinister mark branded on Rhodes' face was removed, he would closely resemble James.

"We are all employed by the Argus Family. Thus, there is no need for the soldiers to face off against each other with swords." James tried one last compromise.

"Brother James! It's because I want to prove that I'm better than you! Even in the aspect of choosing my leader! It will definitely be the next head of the Argus Family!"

Rhodes' expression seemed to express a deep-rooted hatred.

"If it is about the matter that happened during our childhood years, I will apologize to you for that. I can even kneel before you. Nevertheless, Rhodes, one must not enter this vortex, as it can kill you..."

"Heehihihiheee... saying these things now, what's the use?"

Rhodes gave an eerie smile and came over.

"All of you… Annoying!" Leylin, who was in front of the carriage, frowned, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Just as he had thought over and improved his plan, it was suddenly disrupted by this Rhodes and soon, an evil fire approached Rhodes.

"Is this Lord Leylin?"

Rhodes gave a deep bow. In front of this person who had a high certainty of being an official Magus, he did not dare to be disrespectful.

"This is an internal affair of the Argus Family. Moreover, our family's Lord Siegfried is also a respected Lord Magus. He also wishes he can meet you..."

"No! You lie! Grandpa Siegfried has been deceived by you."

Leylin still did not respond. Jenny jumped up, in a straight sudden manner like the tail of a kitten when it was frightened or angry.

"The official Magus of the Argus Family is known as Siegfried, eh? It seems he is the common ancestor for both these troops..."

Leylin felt some pity for this Magus.

His own descendants, for the sake of gaining power, were beating up each other. Maybe all of this gives him a headache. Or maybe he doesn't care about such things.

After all, a Magus' lifespan was very long. By the time a few generations have passed by, whatever affection and such emotions that said Magus had towards his family would have become very diluted

"I do not care who has Siegfried's backing, but, I believe you are blocking my way. Now, step aside at once!"

Leylin frankly chided him. The one Rhodes mentioned was just a level 1 Magus, who certainly couldn't induce fear in him, but he was extremely disgusted with Rhodes' attitude.

"Hic…..." This kind of scolding, clearly made Rhodes feel deflated and he stood there looking foolishly around him. His face also turned red.

His every effort and achievements were like jokes in the eyes of his family.

This is unfair! Again I hear such a tone. And again I am being subjected to such an expression. And in my childhood, my older brother was also the same. Why is he stronger than me in everything? Why do all the good things happen to him and not me?

Rhodes's eyes turned redder.

Moreover, it isn't clear whether that Leylin is an official Magus or not. There exists a probability that he is just someone that slut Jenny hired to scare me.

Rhodes firmly waved his hand, "Charge!"

The multitude soldiers received the order and immediately charged forth.

Even if you are an official Magus, so what? Facing so many Knights, your spiritual force wouldn't last long. After this mission is done with, if worst comes to worst, I will just hide myself within the Argus Family and live comfortably. Anyways, with me under Lord Siegfried's protection, what can you do?

Rhodes eyed Leylin resolutely, his face turning the shade of an abnormally faint red.

"My lord! Jenny! You both please go ahead." Baelin then pulled out his long sword and his whole body swelled up like a balloon. He resembled a small giant as he blocked the carriage from harm.

After the enemy made their charge, he made his battle preparations and roused the secret Knight techniques that Leylin had instructed him in.

Also, the reason behind Rhodes's unusual facial change was immediately accurately revealed within Leylin's eyes.

"His pupils are unusually dilated. The blood flow in his brain has accelerated by 34%, a clear symptom of damage to his spirit."

Seeing the deranged-looking Rhodes, Leylin was somewhat clear on why the opponent was acting so unbridled.

The studies of Magi were extremely dangerous. Any forms of expression could very well sacrifice the Magus' life into it. Furthermore, once there was a slight mistake in important matters that concerned the consciousness, meditation, and spiritual force, many detrimental outcomes could be created.

This Rhodes, clearly received some harm to his sea of consciousness when he advanced to become a level 3 acolyte. He cannot completely control his spirit and his emotions, and so he appears rather nervous.

However, the reason why Rhodes went mad is only a small matter. Leylin only gave him a slight gaze before he focused his attention on the charging cavalry, his mouth displaying a slight sneer.

The charging troops had approximately 200 people. It seems as if the entirety of the Lilan Castle had come to battle. All of them had donned excellent quality armor and the pikes and huge battle axes they wielded carried a sharp, cold glint.

Two hundred mounts charged forth and the ground started to quake and under this mighty launch, Baelin only resembled a small, bemused ant.

This kind of battle formation would even cause a Magus to frown, but Leylin stood calmly as if nothing of importance was happening.

"Why do you all always use a common man's way of thinking against a Magus?"

He lightly sighed and a faint khaki-colored light fell to the ground from his hands.

Hissssss!* This light was as tiny as a firefly, and it looked as if a puff of breath blown on it would extinguish it.

After the khaki-colored light appeared on the ground, it promptly vanished from sight, as if it had fused into the soil and immediately ripples of tremors began to disperse out from the place where the light blended into the soil.

Bang! Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang!*

The tremors began to extend in all directions as if several dominoes had been struck down, and the tremors gained and dispersed more and more power. Finally, there even occurred an earthquake.

Crrrrrrrrrackkk!* The ground began to split open. The huge shockwaves made the Knights feel as if they were caught in the crossfire of bullets.

The surroundings quickly looked like as if there were waves from the sea surging forth causing continuous tremors.

"Argh!" "Earthquake!" "My horse" "Save me, my legs are broken!"

The rifts began to open from the Knight at the forefront before they soon covered the ground of where the whole cavalry was.

Along with the tremors, many horses stumbled and even threw their Knights atop them down.

The ear-splitting bone cracks, the neighing of the horses were all covered by the tremors that the earthquake caused. Only Baelin and James with a certain level of physical ability could barely make out the noise.

Rumble*

The shock wave swept away all the soldiers and still continued on further till they dissipated.

As for the consumption of this spell, it was barely five spiritual force points.

Magi wielded intelligence! Not brute strength! What Leylin did earlier was to calculate the conditions of the surroundings, before using very little force to cause a devastating earthquake using the butterfly effect.

Just one strike! A crushing defeat! More than two hundred cavalrymen were now dead. The wails of the injured and broken bits of limbs left Rhodes in utter shock.

"He...How can he be this powerful?"

Rhodes roared within his heart before he frantically turned away to escape.

"Baelin! Go capture him!" Leylin pointed at Rhodes. However, Baelin stood there stupefied, not moving an inch.

"Aren't you going?" Leylin flicked his finger, only to have a translucent palm slap the back of Baelin's head.

"Oh! Okay!" Only then did Baelin regain his senses, running towards the direction Rhodes had escaped in.

"Mister Leylin! No, Lord Leylin! Pardon my presumptuous question… But what is your rank as an official Magus?"

Just then, James paid his respects to Leylin using the most revered formality, with Jenny following suit behind.

"Me?" Leylin grinned, "I'm just a rank 1 Magus who is shuffling his feet in front of the door of truth…"

"So you are indeed an official Magus! Please pardon our disrespect to you earlier!"

After hearing the words from Leylin's own mouth, Jenny and James sighed in relief. They once again bowed to Leylin before an uncontrollable glee filled their eyes.

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Weeping Ghost Grounds

"My Lord! I've captured that old man!"

Along with Baelin's voice, there was a low thud as if someone was being tossed to the ground.

"Alright. Let's go see your little brother!"

Leylin laughed and left first, with James and Jenny trailing behind him.

Outside the carriage, Baelin was holding a large steel sword, his clothes tattered, thus revealing his firm muscles, and his skin also seemed to be glistening. He was staring at the old man in black clothing.

The old man still had the brand of a black skull on his face. This was naturally Rhodes, who had just escaped.

If one talked about strength, this level 3 acolyte wouldn't be so easily taken down by Baelin, a Grand Knight. However, Leylin had first done something to Rhodes' body, and Rhodes himself had lost confidence after seeing how terrifying Leylin was. This was how he had been able to be captured by Baelin and brought here.

"My lord, how should we deal with him?"

Baelin swung his large sword at Rhodes, an evil grin on his face.

However, knowing Baelin, he was simply intimidating Rhodes.

Seeing his brother who had chosen to embark on the wrong path, James' expression was complicated, a few times he opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut up. After all, Leylin was the one in charge here. Besides, Rhodes had been caught by Leylin's disciple, so he did not have the authority to deal with his brother.

"You- You can't kill me!" Rhodes gasped, body seemingly tied up by an invisible rope. Blood rushed up to his face, leaving him flushed.

"Oh? And why is that?" Leylin asked with a smile.

"I- I'm part of the Argus family! If you kill me, Master Siegfried won't let you off," Rhodes answered while struggling.

"Dream on!" Before he even finished speaking, he was interrupted by Jenny.

The young girl's face was filled with contempt, "You're just the conferred title of a subject in the family. Even if you're a level 3 acolyte, who do you think Master Siegfried would choose to listen to, an official Magus or an acolyte?"

These words were like a sharp arrow, directly piercing into Rhodes' heart and causing him to turn pale.

As long as these conferred subjects did not possess any land, to put things nicely, they could be said to be subjects of the family. In reality, they were high-grade servants of the Argus Family, and this was also Rhodes' position.

In addition, even Siegfried would not offend a Magus of the same ranking over an acolyte.

"I'm afraid in Grandpa Siegfried's heart even if my uncles or even father were to offend a lord Magus, he would send them over to the Magus as an apology!"

The girl looked at Rhodes who seemed to have lost his spine and had no intentions of taking revenge, and instead took pity on him.

Siegfried was a very distant relative of theirs. His family tree had probably branched away seven to eight generations ago.

Whether it was Jenny's father, her uncles, or anybody in the family who would take control of the Argus Family, it didn't matter who it was as long as they had the blood of the Argus Family!

Losing one of the families, who was a hindrance, would not really be a large issue for Siegfried.

"Only after gaining enough strength is it possible for Magi to make connections with each other!"

Jenny clenched her fists tightly, her desire for power intensifying.

"One day, I will advance to become an official Magus!"

In that moment, Baelin seemed to see boundless starlight shining from Jenny's eyes.

"How about him? What should we do?" Baelin scratched his head. Seeing James who seemed to want to say something, he was getting a headache.

"Let him go!" Leylin suddenly exclaimed.

"My lord!" James was evidently pleasantly surprised and half-knelt, "I thank my lord for his benevolence on behalf of my useless brother!"

It was obvious that he still thought highly of his biological younger brother. However, the one calling the shots here was Leylin. Without fully understanding Leylin's intentions, he did not dare say a word for fear it would cause Miss Jenny trouble.

Now that Leylin was letting Rhodes go, gratefulness could be seen in his eyes.

"Since Lord Leylin has spoken, I have no objections," Jenny spoke up, though James smiled wryly in his heart.

This tone meant she was furious with him. However, for his brother, he persevered.

Xiu Xiu!*

An invisible rope was pulled on by Leylin, and Rhodes was made to stand up.

"Leave. Don't let me see you again!"

Baelin pushed Rhodes and pretended to be threatening him by gesturing with his sword.

Rhodes totally ignored Baelin's threats and glanced at his brother James, a complication expression on his face, and quickly left.

All this time, he did not dare to take a glance in Leylin's direction.

Leylin laughed. This was just a level 3 acolyte who was basically like an ant in his eyes. It didn't matter to him whether Rhodes was killed or released.

However, since this could earn him a good impression, why not?

He believed that he needed to return to the side of people who abide the law and were kind. Even if he didn't feel this way at all in his heart, it was necessary to display that image on the outside.

When associating with a Magus who was a stranger to them, a good reputation would lower many people's guards.

For instance, right now, James and Jenny's eyes no longer showed the prudence and cautiousness they originally had. Now, there was more admiration and respect towards him.

……

Rhodes was extremely intelligent. After knowing Leylin's status as an official Magus, he wisely chose not to bother them with their journey any longer.

Just like this, the undisturbed journey went past many towns, allowing Leylin and Baelin to learn more about this place.

Twilight Zone was not a peaceful area, and places, where the sun stone and light were not able to reach, were filled with many darkness type creatures. Moreover, apart from humans, there were many other intelligent species which inhabited such areas.

Along the way, Leylin met several handsome looking mice-men the size of human kids that rode large spiders as their steeds. They seemed to be a type of elf. According to Jenny, these were dark elves that even had a kingdom in the areas where light did not reach. The might of their species was about the same as humans.

Of course, the creatures which were the greatest threat to Leylin and their party were those lurking in the shadows.

Without flames or the sun stone to dispel the darkness, these creatures would swarm forward like mosquitoes, devouring unaware travellers to bits.

Hence, to travel in Twilight Zone, apart from having enough fire starter items or sunstones, power was a necessity. Otherwise, the only outcome was having regrets after becoming feces in the desolate field.

Of course, all of these proved no threat in front of Leylin, an official Magus.

Even if it was a horde of the most brutal creatures, they were just cute little pets in front of him, which could be broken apart easily.

Reverence filled Jenny and James' eyes as they looked as Leylin, who had closed his eyes for meditation.

Leylin had lent a hand several times along the journey. But just this power was the corner of the iceberg that Leylin possessed, it was enough to leave Jenny and James in utter shock and reverence.

All those times when he struck had might exceed the guardian of the Argus Family—Siegfried!

However, just at this moment, the horse carriage which had been moving stopped.

"Lord Leylin! Jenny and Sir James! In front of us is the Weeping Ghost Grounds, should we make a detour?"

Baelin opened the door and in one of his hand, he held a broken piece of the map.

On the map, the area that they were about to reach was the Weeping Ghost Grounds. It was circled in red, with several splatters of red ink that made it seem like spilled blood.

"We're going to the eastern capital, and the fastest way is through the Weeping Ghost Grounds! This will save us a good half of the total time. If we're making a detour, we must head north to the Geri Basin, and then through the Sicily Valley. This will cost us a lot of time…"

James explained to Leylin.

"So then, what special dangers are there in the Weeping Ghost Grounds?" Leylin asked as his interest was piqued.

From James speech, it seemed like he had also approved of this route. Of course, all this was only possible if Leylin was with them.

"The Weeping Ghost Grounds is a very famous forbidden area in the whole of the Twilight Zone. It is said that two powerful Magi had a battle here, hence causing many mysterious types of phenomenon and power lurking within, which are still present up till now…"

James was extremely solemn. "History has it that the Weeping Ghost Grounds has gobbled up many adventurers who doubted the myth. Mercenaries, Knights, acolytes and once even an army of ten thousand!"

"According to myths, one official Magus had once managed to pass through the Weeping Ghost Grounds. According to his description, there seemed to be many spirit bodies within the area. These spirit bodies were filled with malicious intents. Once someone were to enter the area, they would be relentlessly chased after.

Spirit bodies huh? That really brings back memories!

Leylin grinned. He had dived deeper into his research of spirit bodies. There were not many Magi who were more competent than him in this field. It could be said that the least of his fears was a spirit body.

Furthermore, since a Magus had already successfully passed through this area, then it would most likely not be very dangerous.

"We'll head through the Weeping Ghost Grounds then! I wish to see the traces of previous generation Magi!'

Leylin laughed as he spoke.

As for James and Jenny, glee was written all over their faces.

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Lost

The Argus Family's Marquis illness demanded immediate attention, and time was running short. If they were unable to send the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud back to the Marquis on time, he would very likely be poisoned to death.

By then, Jenny's two uncles would have most likely seized control of the internal powers within the Argus Family.

This was a scene that Jenny was not willing to witness.

However, to let her and James pass through the Weeping Ghost Grounds? That would only be courting death!

Hence, after hearing that Leylin agreed to it, Jenny and James were exhilarated.

"Oh, I got this! So, we'll pass through the Weeping Ghost Grounds, right? This name is really distasteful!" Baelin spoke casually and returned to the driver's seat, before cracking his whip.

As a local, the only knowledge he knew of his world was Potter Town and the nearby Woody Wastelands. Due to the limited traffic and deficiency of information that Potter Town received, he had no knowledge of other places.

In fact, this was his first time travelling!

Along with the horse neighing and the creaking made from the spokes of the wheels of the horse carriage, they gradually entered the area of the Weeping Ghost Grounds.

As the Weeping Ghost Grounds was labelled a forbidden area, very few travellers dared to tread through it. The roads had long since been abandoned, with many weeds and shrubs growing on the sides. Baelin could barely recognise the tracks that were once used as they travelled on uneven ground.

As the horse carriage went deeper into the Weeping Ghost Grounds, a layer of thin mist veiled the area, slowly engulfing their surroundings.

At first the mist was rather mild, but as it got denser, their vision was reduced to only a distance of five metres from the horse carriage.

"Lor… Lord Leylin! The mist is too dense now…" Baelin slowed the pace of the horse carriage. To be going quickly under such poor conditions was simply seeking death.

"I got this!"

Leylin waved his right arm, and a thread of grey mist swirled in his palm. It was dispersed in one moment yet they converged immediately after.

"There's a bit of chilliness in this aura. Also, it's not purely made from water vapours…"

He then ordered, "A.I. Chip, analyse components!"

[Beep! Mission establishing, gathering source material, analysis beginning…] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

Very soon, a composition image appeared in front of Leylin's eyes.

[The main component of this mist is water at 98.2%. There are also mixed amounts of salt, protein and other digestive enzymes…] [Through comparison with the database, it is determined to be the tears of a human! Accuracy: 99.99%]

The A.I. Chip's reply shocked Leylin a bit. After a moment had passed, the corners of his lips curled upwards.

"Using tears as mist? Interesting! I have even caught a whiff of some spirit bodies in this…"

"Lord Leylin, is there anything wrong?"

Jenny and James looked at Leylin, their eyes filled with worry. During the A.I. Chip's analysis, outsiders could only perceive Leylin staring blankly for a second before grinning to himself.

Weeping Ghost Grounds was a forbidden area established atop countless skeletons. If not for this official Magus, Leylin, standing guard this time, Jenny and James would not have dared to approach this area.

Furthermore, even with Leylin around, Jenny and James were still wary after entering the Weeping Ghost Grounds and did not let their guard down for a single moment.

"Lord Leylin! The mist is too much; I've lost my way…"

At this moment, Baelin stopped the horse carriage and turned back with an apologetic expression.

"This… How can this happen?" Jenny and James looked at each other before stepping out of the horse carriage. Very soon, they were stupefied by the amount of mist there was.

In front of the horse carriage were three forked paths, they seemed to be like branches of an ancient tree, winding and crooked, heading towards different directions.

There stood a badly damaged, rotten wooden signpost with countless vines creeping on it.

On the sign, the black words which had almost faded away were the names of the different paths and even had arrowheads pointing to their locations.

"Hut of the Weeping Woman, Paradise of Wailing Creatures, Jones' Pastry Shop…What strange names are these?" Jenny was bewildered. "I haven't been here before, but according to the map there should only be one path, nothing like forked paths of any sort…"

"It seems like we've met with some trouble!" James sighed exasperatedly, but deep down he felt a little more relieved.

Previously, he did not know what terrors were hidden inside the Weeping Ghost Grounds, which made him be on guard all the time. However, now that trouble had presented itself, he felt a little better.

At the very least, now that some troubles had appeared, their party had to solve them.

"Hng! Petty tricks!"

At this moment, Leylin walked out too. As he saw the sign, his expression showed distaste.

Very soon, a layer of red light flashed past Leylin's pupils, and the surroundings underwent a tremendous change.

The grey mist immediately thinned, revealing many bizarrely shaped trees. As for the signpost, many tiny three-headed snakes and toads now covered the words which were previously there.

"These are only the effects of poltergeists, affecting the mental soundness of regular humans and even acolytes. If it's only up to this extent, it would be such a disappointment."

"Now I will lead the way, and you will just follow my movements." Leylin let Jenny and James sat in the horse carriage as he took up the role of assistant driver.

"Yes, my Lord!"

After Leylin sat beside him, Baelin inhaled a deep breath, feeling much more relieved than before, "Which way do we go?"

"None of those paths, head to the extreme right!"

Leylin sneered at the originally pitched forks. At this moment, in Leylin's vision, the three paths had all disappeared, turning into three huge caves that were covered by trees.

If the horse carriage entered those areas, they would definitely meet with a dead end. Once they had deviated from the main path, they would be trapped in there.

"But, those are granite rocks! How are we going to travel through that?" Baelin scratched his head.

The direction that Leylin had pointed in was where a large granite rock sturdily stood, with algae growing on it.

Pak!* Before Baelin could finish talking, he was smacked on the head by Leylin, "Just go where I tell you to, why do you have so much rubbish to say?"

Baelin wailed, but his experiences and training with Leylin allowed him to quickly follow the instructions given.

The horse carriage moved forward, charging towards the ten meter tall granite rock.

"Hey Hey! There're only five more metres, should we stop now?"

Baelin questioned Leylin as he rode forward. However, as no reply was given, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and urge the horses forward.

"Three metres! One metre now!" Baelin cried in alarm but at the very end he gave up and shut his eyes.

Pop!*

As the head of the horses crashed into the granite rock, the expected impact and cries did not happen.

Baelin widened his eyes in shocked, and very soon a strange sight occurred!

The heads of the two horses had already extended into the huge granite rock. Looking at this scene, it seemed like the huge rock had swallowed them.

The huge rock continuously engulfed the horses from their head to their necks, to their back and tails, and finally towards Baelin.

"Yikes!" Baelin unconsciously extended his right hand to block the impact, but very soon a flash appeared in his vision.

Pop!* A feeling like walking past a wall of water came onto him, as Baelin looked at the surroundings in awe.

After passing through the granite rock, the mist thinned by a considerable amount. With the torches carried by the horses and the frightening physical abilities as a Grand Knight, Baelin's vision had already extended to over a dozen metres.

On both sides of the road were black birch trees, growing in an orderly fashion. In the middle was a small path, which was where the horse carriage was travelling on. As for the original three forked pitches, they had completely vanished by now.

"Did we stumble upon some strange illusory spell earlier?" As a level 3 acolyte, James was the quickest to understand what had happened.

However, Leylin did not answer his question. On the contrary, he turned even more solemn, much more than when he looked at the pitched forks.

"The direction is wrong! This isn't the scene that I saw earlier!"

In his earlier observation, the correct path that Leylin saw should have been a small road laid with brambles, but not such a neat and orderly looking road like this.

"Don't tell me that I have also been influenced by the illusion earlier?" Leylin's face turned dark.

However, the astonishment deep within his heart far surpassed what his face revealed. He was already a rank 2 Warlock! Although he was injured, a simple spirit body could no longer affect his senses.

"A.I. Chip! Scan the surroundings!"

Leylin rubbed his temples and ordered as a flash of blue light glowed in his eyes.

[Beep! Mission establishing, beginning scan!] [Alert! Alert! Due to unknown interference, the scan is unable to be accomplished. Will try again in 1 second…Bzzt..Bzzt…]

The A.I. Chip responded. However, very soon the feedback received was like a broken tape mixed with a radio with no signals, giving off a buzzy feedback noise.

This piercing noise grew louder and louder, finally turning into the ear-piercing wail of a woman.

"Wuu…Wuu…"

This noise filled Leylin's head, making him dizzy.

"Have you guys heard anything? I think I hear a woman crying!"

In reality, Baelin muttered. He soon received the responses of Jenny and James, "Us too!"

"Over there!" James suddenly pointed.

Leylin also looked in the direction James had indicated, and under a rotten birch tree, a woman wearing a long black dress was crouching and weeping.

"This voice! This voice! It's Marsha's! I won't ever forget it!"

An incredulous look was on James' face. He quickly hopped off the horse carriage and rushed to the woman.

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Dreamland's Creature

"Marsha! My beloved Marsha, is that you?"

Agitation filled James' voice as he skipped lightly towards the woman in the black dress, reaching out his hands to pull her shoulders back.

Leylin stood on the horse carriage while observing, yet he did not stop James.

The situation right now was extremely strange, and he needed a guinea pig to test the waters.

James used some force to turn the woman in black dress around.

Suddenly, all he saw was a face with no orifices, but only a black swirl on it.

Xiu!* Horror filled James' face as he seemed to be pulled into a long black string and was continuously swirled as he was absorbed into the woman's face.

The whole process was extremely quick, ending just as Leylin was about to lend a hand. However, through a replay, he could clearly see how James was stretched and distorted bit by bit into more than a dozen metres and eventually absorbed into the woman's swirling face.

This time disorder left Leylin feeling so disgusted that he wanted to puke.

At the same time, his heart sank.

"This is definitely not any sort of spirit body, but a more terrifying existence that I am still unable to comprehend…"

In an instant, Leylin recalled from the A.I. Chip's database that back in ancient times, battles between two high ranking Magi would often devastate the earth and seas around them. At the same time, they could separate the dimensions of space and time, causing others to perceive things incorrectly.

Especially in such places, there would often be strange beings with terrifying powers.

Some of these existences were extremely weak, such that even a level 3 acolyte could easily eradicate them. However, some others were so terrifying that they could even surpass the powers of the Morning Star Magi, directly causing the stars in the sky to fall!

"This black clothed woman is but an apparition. Once certain conditions are fulfilled, the swirl on her face activates, swallowing any objects that come close to it…"

Leylin made his conclusion in an instant. "Right now, my power is still lacking. Against such an apparition, which obviously isn't weak, choosing to engage without any further information is simply a foolish act. Run!"

His body instantly turned into black mist and vanished into the thin air.

With the flicker of black light, Leylin's body appeared several hundred meters away with a black arc that followed behind.

"Wuuuuu!"

However, the ear-piercing screams still sounded in Leylin's ears, the pitch of which was even higher than before.

Leylin was stupefied as he found himself changing directions and flying towards the woman in the black dress.

Ka-cha!*

The woman stood up and her skull split open into two halves. From that gaping hole, rows of razor sharp fangs were revealed, as though her face had turned into the jaws of a creature.

Bang!* The giant jaw snapped shut, and darkness enveloped Leylin.

……

Leylin felt as if he had fallen from an extremely high place and hit the ground before his body shuddered as he regained consciousness.

"I seem to have been swallowed by that woman earlier!"

"Where is this?"

Leylin rubbed his head as he looked at his surroundings.

The room was dark and small, with many spiderwebs at the corners. There was not a single piece of furniture, nor even windows or a door.

It seemed to be a small, sealed basement of the sorts.

Besides Leylin, there also lay Baelin and Jenny. Their eyes were shut tight as they were unconscious. It seemed like they would need a long while before regaining consciousness.

"An even deeper illusion!" Leylin was extremely solemn.

"If the three pitched forks of the road were the superficial layer of this illusion, the women in the black dress was the second layer, and this, the third!"

An illusion! Also, Leylin did not have much interaction with the dreamland, but in ancient times, the Magi had once conquered another large world, in which the inhabitants had wielded dream and illusory powers. Through the powers of the dream realm, they could easily accomplish anything, and were even revered as gods by the ignorant inhabitants of the other planes and dimensions!

Also, through a short paragraph recorded in antique books, Leylin knew that the further one threaded into an illusion, the more difficult it was to escape.

"I've got to get out! The third level of an illusion is dangerous enough!"

Black flames ignited in Leylin's palm, "Latent Fireball!"

The black fireball struck a corner of the basement, creating a deep hole.

"First I must understand the constructs of this illusion!" Leylin rubbed his chin. He had no better solution against such a power, so he could only test things out before searching for other methods.

……

Leylin jumped into the dark hole he created.

"It's the 193rd time, yet I'm back at this place!" Leylin looked at Jenny and Baelin who were still unconscious, his expression looking extremely severe.

"Through my experiments, I have already understood the three-dimensional constructs in here. As expected, the deeper the level of illusion, the less sturdy the dimensions within are, which will finally turn into chaos…"

If the dimensions here were to collapse, there were only two possibilities. Either one would enter a deeper levelled illusion, or if their spirit was unable to bear the brunt of it, they would directly be swallowed by the caster of this illusion.

"I've tried all other places, so I am only left with this now!"

Leylin kicked the unconscious bodies of Baelin and Jenny away, revealing the dusty grey floor beneath them.

With a fireball, the ground was shattered…

Pop!* The floor of the basement cracked opened, and Leylin jumped into it.

"It's still the same basement as before, but Jenny and Baelin have already disappeared. Good! Very good! There is finally some change…"

Leylin's eyes swept over the surroundings. It was still the same cramped basement. However, what was different than before was that Jenny and Baelin's bodies were no longer here.

"Signs of repair that cannot keep up with the damage done huh? Next, I'll have to…" As if plucking the strings of a zither, both of Leylin's hands streaked across the void, creating circles of ripples.

Under the movements of his fingers, the texture of the underground basement resembled water with light ripples.

The greater the area the ripples covered, the more the void contorted, until finally, a pop sound was heard!

The space of the underground basement shattered, and Leylin's body dropped downwards once again.

……

Mirrors! Bright mirrors were everywhere, reflecting the appearance of a black haired, noble youth.

"This should be the interval between the two levels of the illusion!"

Leylin touched the ice-cold mirror and made a deduction.

Right now, he had momentarily escaped from the illusion. This would definitely draw the attention of the caster.

However, this was the effect he desired!

"Wuu..Wuu…!"

At this moment, the weeping voice of an adorable girl traveled over.

Leylin abruptly turned his head, and in one corner of a mirror, he saw a little purple haired girl wearing a red dress with white socks who was crying.

"Wuuuu… Alice has lost her little bear! Big Brother, can you accompany me to search for it?"

The little girl stopped her crying and looked at Leylin with imploring eyes.

"My apologies, but I cannot!" Leylin shook his head.

"But why?" The little girl was puzzled. "Alice is extremely obedient! Don't you like Alice?"

As she spoke, more mirror images appeared in the surroundings.

"I want to, but let us speak first!" Leylin tried his best to speak calmly.

He did not have much experience dealing with such strange entities. Furthermore, the other party was a higher dimensional creature. Their trains of thought and level of thinking would be different than humans. Leylin himself did not know if he could convince it to let him go.

"Won't you accompany Alice to find her little bear?"

"No!" Leylin shook his head his head resolutely. It was rumoured in legends that similar things had happened before. Once one agreed to such a request, it would be treated as them having signed some sort of bizarre contract, and they would fall under the manipulation of others. Some were even indefinitely sucked into other dimensions.

Although there were a few lucky ones who had obtained mysterious strength through such encounters, Leylin was never one who relied on gambling, especially when his life would be at stake!

Crash!*

Just as Leylin rejected her, countless beetles poured from the mirrors and engulfed him like a tide.

"I'll still have to attack!" Leylin's brows furrowed. He knew that he had to demonstrate his strength before the other party would acknowledge him.

"Latent Fireball! Eyes of Petrification!"

In an instant, his whole body was covered in scales, and black flames continuously billowed from his hands. Even his eyes had a mysterious light that shot outwards.

Pak! Pak!*

Many of the black beetles were petrified as they fell to the ground, turning into a pile of dust. As for most of them, they were burnt into nothingness by the black flames.

However, the beetles still poured out continuously from the mirrors, and what Leylin had managed to get rid of was but one hair from nine oxen.

"The strength of my opponent has far exceeded my imagination!"

Leylin smiled wryly as he tossed a red powder out, "Scorching Touch!"

Two scorching rays of light were released, clearing the path in two directions.

However, Leylin's face turned pale immediately, and his consciousness wavered. The crystallised spiritual force had even more cracks opened, almost shattered.

Scorching Touch was a rank 2 spell, and right now Leylin only had a portion of his spiritual force solidified. With the strength of a rank 1 Magus, he would naturally receive backlash from recklessly using a rank 2 spell.

This backlash was considered relatively light. If he were to use the innate talent of a rank 2 Magus, it was very likely that his sea of consciousness would undergo drastic changes.

"Chi Chi!"

The sea of beetles cried incessantly, once again pouring towards Leylin.

Leylin, whose spiritual force was already depleted, could only watch as layer after layer of beetles engulfed his body.

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Eastern Region's Capital City

The black beetles completely covered Leylin's body; it was as if he was wearing a very thick, black coat.

Numerous beetles tried to gnaw on Leylin's body; their teeth struck upon his black scales, resulting in crinkling noises.

Leylin's body emitted a black light and the layer of beetles trembled and fell off, but right after they just extended their exoskeletons and crawled back up.

These beetles eventually even advanced to the only exposed part of Leylin's body: his eyes! They wanted to completely submerge him in the sea of their bodies!

"I underestimated them," Leylin muttered. He had not expected that these black beetles would be so troublesome. There was not enough time for him to execute Toxic Bile!

"Ah! How can I die in this place?"

Leylin roared, and at this exact moment, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline within his body began to violently circulate.

Soon, Leylin's pupils became amber colored vertical slits, and while facing the sky, he let out a loud hiss!.

"Hisssss!"

It sounded fierce, and appeared very sinister! A tremendous, devilish aura was cleanly emitted from Leylin's body; it was as if a predator from ancient times had been resurrected.

Black energy spewed out of his body and congealed behind his back, taking the form of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, which hissed into the sky.

Rumble! rumble!*

Along with this huge shockwave, the beetles, which had forcefully crawled all over Leylin, turned to dust in midair, as if they had all been struck by bullets.

Leylin's roars still echoed, and the power and emotions in his blood vessels recklessly surged.

Ka cha! Snap!*

The surface of the surrounding mirrors covered with cracks and then exploded with a loud bang, exposing an opening of hollow space.

"Fu…Fu…", Leylin stopped his roaring and started panting heavily.

Just now, at the critical moment, the blood essence of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent within his body had exploded, which had also placed a very strong burden on his body.

Currently, Leylin was surrounded by pitch-black nothingness. Spread about on the ground were the butchered limbs of the black beetles.

Hoo! Hoo!*

The mutilated corpses of the black beetles hovered in midair and formed the black face of a woman, which said, "A Warlock with the bloodline of the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent? I also get a whiff of the nauseous odor of spirits from your body."

Her lips squirmed as she spoke in the ancient Byron language.

It seems like it only likes the pure spirits of humans. As for the bodies of Warlocks, not only do they have a distinct bloodline, their spirits are different from normal spirits as well. Hence it doesn't like this scent!

Although he put on a calm expression, Leylin was inwardly excited. Using the ancient Byron language, he said, "I accidentally intruded upon your territory. I request that you let me leave; I will also pay a ransom for it…"

This existence wasn't human, so Leylin bluntly stated his conditions.

"Not bad! However, I do not like the spirit of a Warlock." The huge human face responded, "As for the price for redeeming your spirit and those of the other two civilians, I ask that you give me those green spirit crystals in your pouch."

"The green spirit crystals?" Leylin was startled. Immediately, upon his hand, were some beautiful crystals that emitted a green radiance and luster like that of a green diamond.

"Yes, precisely!" The huge human face spoke.

Those are the ancient, pure spirit crystals that I got by killing the Loathsome Evil in the Ancient Spirit Slaying Sect's secret realm. There are rumors that these crystals are valued equally highly by all existences in the different worlds… A flash of understanding went through Leylin's mind.

"So that will be the ransom for releasing me and the other two!" Leylin nodded, expressing his agreement. Then he asked, "What happened to that old man in the beginning?"

"He is deeply immersed in the illusion; he has already lost himself within my body…."

The huge human face replied.

Leylin had already guessed that to be so. He sighed, "Send me out!"

……

Hu…"

Leylin opened his eyes and found himself lying on one side within the carriage. Baelin and Jenny were on the other side, and James' body had silently vanished.

In the same way, the soul crystals also disappeared from Leylin's hands.

"Here it is, the original location of the three-forked paths…"

By now, the grey mist had settled down for the most part. The three forked paths and the huge granite rock had all faded, and in their place was the original road.

Leylin could clearly recognize the direction, and he quickly drove the horse carriage and left this place.

"This time, it was really dangerous!"

While Leylin kept driving, some traces of fear still lingered. If not for the enemy having disliked the idea of having her spirit contaminated by Leylin's bloodline, or perhaps even having feared the power of Leylin's bloodline, Leylin would have also ended up like James, being forever trapped in the body of that huge face made of beetles.

The further he went, the more the mist began to clear up, until eventually, it completely vanished, exposing the view of overgrown fields on both sides of the road up ahead.

"The Weeping Ghost Grounds are truly a dangerous place!"

The traumatic experience that Leylin had just gone through caused him to keep turning around and check behind his back as he continued to drive, up until he completely lost sight of the Weeping Ghost Grounds.

Behind him, the fading gray mist congealed again to form a wall that blocked his view.

I also wonder about the two Magi who had once fought there—what rank were they, and what was the result of their battle? Leylin thought, and then he sighed.

Just the aftermath of a fight had disturbed time and space and had created such a strange place. Leylin knew from this that these Magi's powers exceeded his own imagination. They were probably existences that surpassed Morning Star Magi!

"There will inevitably be a day when I, too, will reach such a level!"

This time's incidents only reinforced Leylin's resolution to become stronger.

"Oh! Where am I?"

After leaving the Weeping Ghost Grounds, Baelin woke up, holding his head with his hands.

"How do you feel? Do you remember anything from before you lost consciousness?" Without turning around, Leylin asked while he brandished his horsewhip.

"My memories are not very clear. I think that we encountered a woman as we passed through the gray mist." Baelin looked as perplexed as he sounded.

Very soon, the horses' reins were placed in his hands.

"You woke up just in time! You can drive the carriage instead of me!"

Leylin pushed the whip into Baelin's hands and sat back to enjoy this free manpower of his.

Baelin's physique was that of a Grand Knight, and thus, he woke up before Jenny. However, Jenny was still a level 1 acolyte, so she woke up soon after Baelin.

"Very good reaction!"

Leylin looked at Jenny who was still pretending to be unconscious as he touched Jenny's hand and complimented her indifferently.

"So it's Mister Leylin!" Jenny shuddered and opened her eyes, "I thought it was the bad guys!"

Afterwards, she opened the carriage window and looked out of it to see that there was no grey mist.

"Have we already left the Weeping Ghost Grounds? Where is James?"

"Yes, we are now in Olive Fields. We will be seeing the capital city of the eastern region of the Twilight Zone in two days at most."

Leylin slowly nodded, "As for James, you had best prepare yourself mentally…"

A short while later, Baelin, who was driving outside of the carriage, heard Jenny cry out in alarm, "No, it can not be so. You are telling a lie!"

Bang!* The carriage door opened, from which a tearful Jenny could be seen.

"Jenny, you…" Seeing Jenny look so broken-hearted, Baelin was bewildered.

Sob! Sob!* Jenny threw herself into Baelin's embrace and began to cry loudly.

……

The Twilight Zone was divided into 5 regions: the east, west, north, south, and central regions. The capital city of the eastern region was the most flourishing city in all the Twilight Zone and was also the center of politics and business.

Many aristocratic families had set up their headquarters here, forming the aristocrats' alliance which held a major influence in the entire eastern region.

There were also many Magi conducting research and establishing academies in secret locations there, which caused this place to be a meeting point for magicians.

In the center of the city, there was a sun stone that was the size of a small mountain, which brought eternal light and heat to this entire region.

"The city's walls are very tall!"

On this day, in the eastern region's capital city, a country bumpkin could be seen gaping at this tall and sturdy castle wall.

"Enough!" Leylin used the sheath of his sword to hit Baelin on the head, stopping him from continuing to behave like this.

Although the eastern region's capital city looked huge, as he looked around, it seemed to Leylin that it was the same as Nightless City. As a result, the way Baelin behaved made Leylin feel ashamed.

"You really are causing me to lose face," he reprimanded Baelin.

Hearing this, Baelin rubbed his head and looked at the surroundings, only pointing at the citizens from time to time. Only after a while did he smile in embarrassment as he said, "Lord! From the day I was born, I have never set eyes upon such tall city walls. I'm really sorry…"

Leylin was rather speechless. If not for the number of people around, he may have even harboured thoughts of killing Baelin right there and then.

"Tee hee… Lord Leylin, Baelin has only seen Potter Town until now. This degree of astonishment is quite a reasonable reaction!"

At this moment, Jenny, who was nursing her sorrow, was amused by Baelin's behaviour. She sniggered as she helped Baelin out of his predicament.

However, after seeing Jenny answer for him, Baelin drooped his head in embarrassment, not doing any other potential things that could be unbearable to look at.

After all, in front of the girl he loved, Baelin still had to put up some poise.

"Alright! Since we have sent Miss Jenny back safely, we should bid our farewells now!"

The atmosphere in the horse carriage turned silent, yet Leylin still smiled and faced Jenny.

"What?!" "What!?" Two shocked gasps were uttered by the two youths.

"Wh…Why? This is too sudden!" Baelin felt that something was amiss, yet he could not put his thoughts into words.

"Lord Leylin! I still request that you visit my Argus Family. My father will definitely wish to have your acquaintance, and Baelin's as well!"

Jenny bit her lips.

"From the start, I mentioned that we were only travelling together out of convenience!"

Leylin's expression turned resolute. "As for you, Baelin, you can return with Jenny! Furthermore, there are already people coming to receive you, Jenny!" He smiled.

Thud Thud*

Right after Leylin spoke, the continuous thuds of hooves of horses sounded out. The approaching party was a group of white Knights sitting upon handsome steeds. On the tops of their helmets was a white feathered ornament. Their armour had not even a single speck of dust, and even their horses were fully white in colour!

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Settling Down

There was a shiny insignia on the flags held by this group of white Knights.

Lush sun vines formed the border of the insignia, and in the middle were a giant sword and shield. On the top lay a crown, which represented the profound origins and illustrious history of the household.

"It's the Sun Vine Argus Family!"

"That well-known family where the Marquis is!"

"That is their 'Silver-White Knight Squadron. Could it be that some important figure of the Argus Family is setting out on a journey?"

The citizens and passers-by fervently discussed amongst themselves, and Baelin put on an extremely complex expression.

"I'll get going!" Jenny looked at Baelin and spoke.

"Oh? Eh! Alright!" Baelin replied sluggishly. Only now did he realise how great a distance he was from Jenny.

"Let's us leave too, my lord!" Baelin sucked in a cold breath of air and spoke with resolve.

"We will remain in the city for a period. As for the location, I'm sure you don't need to know. You'll definitely be able to find us, won't you?"

Leylin spoke to Jenny, before disappearing into the crowd along with Baelin.

As for Jenny, she inhaled deeply as she clutched onto the pouch that contained the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud.

"Miss! Our men have immediately reported your arrival upon receiving the news. We are here to escort you home!"

The leader of the Silver-White Knight squadron looked at Jenny as he took out a badge with a red jewel embedded in it.

"Alright! Let us quickly enter the city! This time, I have completed the mission of bringing back the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud for my father!"

Jenny muttered.

……

Very soon, she was escorted by the squadron leader to a lavish horse-drawn carriage. This young lady of nobility shed a tear, as she could no longer hold her emotions in…

Twilight Zone's eastern capital was extremely large. The permanent residents amounted to over a hundred thousand people. Of course, most of them were just regular folks. Even so, it brought about an extremely wealthy economy in the area.

As they were in the subterranean world, the architecture of the buildings and the items sold here were different from those on the south coast. From Leylin's observations, everything was engineered with defense in mind. The whole capital was like a massive fortress. Even the buildings themselves within were built with their defensive capabilities in mind.

"It seems like the environment for the humans in the subterranean world isn't that great. It might even be inferior to that on the south coast…" Leylin pondered as he analysed his observations.

In the south coast, any danger would have long since been driven away or controlled by the Magi. Not one species would engage in a long battle with the humans, hence the living conditions were better there.

However, it was a different story here! Apart from humans, several other intelligent beings resided in the Twilight Zone. Some of them even had their own kingdoms!

Hence, the horde of darkness beasts that forever lay in the shadows was the greatest nemesis for all intelligent beings.

Under such harsh conditions and the struggle for survival, the buildings and houses were not made to pursue aesthetic beauty, but rather, they were built with defense in mind, which was crucial for their survival.

"My lord! What are we going to do here?"

Baelin carried a knapsack and a greatsword. He gave off an extremely gallant disposition, yet he wore a vacant expression on his face.

Their reason for leaving Potter Town was to send Jenny back. However, now that she had safely returned, Baelin felt that part of his heart was vacant as if something of importance had gone missing.

"First of all, find some lodging, and then rent a building!"

Leylin looked at the bustling crowd and smiled. "After all, the inns in the capital aren't cheap! If we want to stay for long, we'll have to buy or rent a flat…"

"Settling down? We're going to stay here instead of returning?"

Baelin could not express his current feelings. However, permanent residence? Thinking that he could be in the same city as Jenny, it immediately turned into a happy thought.

"En! Is there anything in Potter Town that is worth being nostalgic over?"

Leylin grinned at Baelin until the little chap bowed his head down in embarrassment.

This poor fellow thought that it was because of him that Leylin had decided to reside here permanently; he thought that it was so that his heart would be filled with gratitude towards Leylin.

Alas! On the contrary, this was based on Leylin's own interests.

After recovering part of his strength, Leylin could wait no longer to get into contact with the Magi of the subterranean world. Although Leylin had exercised a mind searching technique on Aaron and the other acolytes, much of the information that he had gleaned was still incomplete. Due to their lack of status, no precious information could be obtained.

Furthermore, the circles of official Magi and regular acolytes were on two completely different levels. Leylin had no desire whatsoever to even take a look at the bazaar area that he got from Aaron's memories.

As for the eastern capital, it definitely had many Magi and academies for Leylin to come into contact with.

Even the Magus forefather of the Argus Family was an excellent choice!

Not long later, Leylin brought Baelin to the upper-class district on the northern side of the capital and rented a two-storey villa.

The area of the villa was rather vast, and its walls were sturdy and tall. As for its windows, they were both tiny and few in number.

Within the tall fences with coiled barbed wire laying on top of it, there was a tiny garden and a training ground.

A villa of this standard was considered way above average in the eastern city. Typical merchants and nobility would not even be able to afford it.

However, this was just peanuts to him.

Even without considering the vast amounts of magic crystals that he carried, just the gold he had gotten from Jenny was enough for them to live extravagantly for a couple of years!

Back in Potter Town, Jenny had almost cleanly swept all of Leylin's highly-priced equipment off the shelves for the use of her employed mercenaries and adventurers. Later on, to thank Leylin, who had lent her a hand together with Baelin, she sent even more gold and jewels to him.

To Magi, items such as currency were not essential items. Hence, Leylin was extremely generous with his purchases. Finding a villa and preparing the procedural documents was only hastened with the help of this worldly wealth.

"Ha! He!" A steady and loud shout sounded.

Leylin put down the coffee and newspaper he was carrying as he peered out of the window and towards the training ground.

Baelin stood on the training ground as he practiced, his bare upper body revealing his chiseled muscles.

After settling down, this fellow had turned even more diligent, training like a mad man each day. He even sought Leylin's permission to join a mercenary group to hone his skills.

"Still harbouring the dreams of a knight being together with a princess? Interesting!"

Leylin looked at the youth with interest, "If I had a word in things, and had helped him in reaching his goal, his dreams would most likely be fulfilled. But why would I? The glory of a story lies in the unknown!"

To him, Baelin was just a chap that he picked up on a whim to do odd jobs for him. Occasionally, he would guide him in some Knight training, but other than that, it was not worth it to spend any more effort on him.

On the contrary, as he was very curious about the developments of the story between Baelin and Jenny, Leylin had adopted the mindset of an audience member watching a show.

Ever since he obtained the premonition through the Sacred Flame by chance, he knew that Baelin and Jenny were no regular folks. To be more precise, they were some of the main characters in the Twilight Zone.

Such a life would definitely be anything but ordinary!

Suddenly, Leylin smiled. "Finally here?"

Loud doorbells sounded from the front gate.

"Who is that?" Baelin took a white towel from a wooden rack beside him and wiped off his perspiration as he ran to open a small, partitioned box on the door.

Just then, Baelin saw the girl of his dreams.

"Jen…Jenny, why are you here?" Glee was written all over Baelin's face.

"Why? Am I not welcome?" Jenny smiled.

"Welcome! Of course, you're welcome here!" Baelin immediately opened the door. Jenny walked in wearing the outfit of a noble; her beauty and elegance left Baelin awestruck.

It was obvious that Jenny did her makeup delicately. Not only was her attire vibrant with various ornaments, she even wore two giant ruby earrings and a sparkling diamond pendant.

"What is it? Do you not recognise me anymore?" Jenny chuckled as she spun in a circle.

"No! I mean… You're too ravishing today!" Baelin's face immediately turned as red as an apple.

This helpless reaction left the maidservants behind Jenny snickering. In addition, it was only then that Baelin noticed the several Knights standing alongside the maidservants.

This discovery left him feeling a little gloomy, but it was very soon concealed.

"Jenny! Has your father's illness gotten any better?" Baelin asked.

"Yes, thank you! It's much better now, but things are getting complicated! The purpose of my visit today was for this, and of course, also to see you!" Jenny swept her eyes at the vicinity.

"Where is Mister Leylin? I wish to be granted an audience with him!"

"The lord is in the house! I… I'll report to him!" Baelin now had an urge to cry.

"No need for that, I've heard it!"

Pa!* The windows were pulled open, revealing half of Leylin's figure. "Do enter, beautiful miss!"

Jenny did not dare tarry facing this official Magus, so she curtsied and entered after telling her subordinates to stay outside.

In the guest chambers, Jenny sat opposite Leylin and between them were two coffees. As for Baelin, he stood behind Leylin.

There were only these three people in the guest chamber.

With a wave of Leylin's hand, the room was covered by a layer of black energy particles.

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Magus Tower

The whole drawing room seemed to be covered by a black halo of light, and even the cracks on the window were also completely sealed off as if they had been covered with a layer of black cotton.

This kind of strange scene caused Baelin to be amazed. Feeling curious, he tried to touch the 'black cotton.' The light quickly refilled the path that his hand passed through

Baelin enjoyed this very much, and when he looked at Leylin, his expression was much more respectful than in the past.

During this journey, Baelin had come to know of Leylin's identity as an official Magus from Jenny and James.

For Baelin, who was from Potter Town, a Knight was already considered to be an awesome, lordly identity. However, a Magus? This was already something that was only heard of in legends.

In fact, Baelin had always fantasized about becoming a Magus and wielding the powers of lightning, fire, and ice.

This was also because if he could become a Magus, he would be able to marry Jenny.

But unfortunately, all his hopes were easily dashed by Leylin's words "you don't have any talent in this field".

Leylin also noticed that Baelin's aptitude was poor, at only around level 1, which was known as the least suitable aptitude for becoming a Magus; he could only remain as an acolyte during his entire lifetime.

However, even if he did not have a suitable aptitude, if he was diligently taught, he might possibly be able to become an acolyte! The identity of an acolyte was much better when compared to a Knight.

However, the problem was that training an acolyte required a lot more time and energy that training a Knight. Now that they were no longer at Potter Town, Leylin did not have any time for leisure, so why would he waste time on Baelin? Thus, Leylin had turned down Baelin's request without the slightest hesitation.

Even so, Baelin was very interested in the mysterious power wielded by magicians.

"Okay, this place has been sealed by me. If you have something to say, say it. It will remain a secret between us."

Leylin spoke out.

After hearing Leylin's words, Jenny grimaced as she said, "As expected, nothing can be hidden from Lord Leylin."

"Eh? Jenny, did you not come to visit us?" Now, Baelin finally reacted. He was about to make a fuss, but Leylin quelled him with a warning glance. Baelin quieted down and listened attentively to Jenny's narration.

"After having received the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud, my father's condition has greatly improved. He is now able to get up from bed and handle simple tasks, and his spirit has also improved a lot…"

Jenny looked slightly cheered up for a moment, but in the next, her expression darkened again.

"But good things don't last long. Taking advantage of the fact that my father was recuperating, my two uncles once again convened a family meeting. They want to usurp my father's title…"

"I came here today to seek help from you."

Jenny stood up and performed an official curtsey to Leylin and said, "My lord, if only you can help my father get past this current crisis, we will repay you with anything, including my own self."

"Jenny! You!" Listening to this, Baelin became anxious, but he felt helpless, as he could not do anything to help her.

"Hehe…."

Hearing what Jenny said, Leylin remained composed and began to mutter to himself. When Jenny began to believe that Leylin had been possessed, he began to laugh out loud.

"I have no intentions of participating in the Argus Family's matter. However, I will pay your family a visit in three days' time…"

About a quarter of an hour later, Jenny left after having gotten what she wanted. Although Leylin hadn't clearly stated which side he would support, a good relationship with an official Magus was something no family would dare to neglect.

But what Jenny did not notice was that after she left, Leylin's lips curved up in a sneering smile.

"You hid so many things, yet you are still counting on me to come and help you. Do you people think I am an ignorant person with nothing better to do?"

The reason why Jenny's uncles dared to openly go against her and be so brazen is likely because they have a powerful backer and a high certainty of succeeding, thus forcing the original successor to seek external help. With such a guarantee, Leylin was 70% sure that they had gotten approval from Siegfried!

In such a situation, Jenny and her dad placed all their hopes on Leylin, even sacrificing Jenny herself as the bait and the gift.

"Hehe… do you really believe that I would involve myself in your matters for the sake of Baelin's happiness? Unfortunately, Baelin's happiness, and even his life are only like toys to me…"

With a ruminating smile, Leylin glanced at the towering figure of Baelin standing near the gate.

……

Three days later, Leylin, dressed in the black ceremonial suit of the nobility, visited the Argus Family with Baelin in tow.

"Lord Leylin, to be seeing you is an honor in itself."

Having been informed by the servant, Jenny and her father, the Marquis Argus, came out and greeted Leylin.

Leylin also sized up Marquis Argus while he acknowledged his greeting with a smile. This marquis had a full head of hair that was as bright as gold and shared many physical characteristics with Jenny. He currently wore a warm, cordial, and appropriate-to-this-occasion smile on his face.

Behind him, two servants bowed with bent waists—this was a most sincere and deferential invitation to come in.

"En!" Leylin indifferently grunted and nodded his head, and alongside Marquis Argus, he walked in. Afterwards, Leylin walked slightly ahead of the Marquis.

A Magus originally possessed a lot of stamina and authority. After seeing Leylin walk ahead of him, the Marquis' smile only became more fervent, as if he did not care about these matters.

Behind the two were Baelin and Jenny. Baelin opened his mouth on several occasions, wanting to talk to Jenny, but after he saw the solemn Jenny, who was dressed up as if to attend a royal feast, he was unable to say anything, and just closed his mouth.

It went without saying that this serene, well-constructed mansion of a marquis, as well as the respectful and cautious servants that stood on both sides of him as he walked past, all frightened the wits out of this youngster.

After welcoming Leylin, the marquis thought to introduce Leylin to the other relatives but was interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Ohoho! My dearest older brother, if you invited so many guests, why did you not invite us too?"

Upon hearing this voice, the marquis's smile remained, but a trace of wariness appeared in his eyes as he introduced the owner of the voice to Leylin.

"My lord, these are my two brothers, Lucas and Kermode."

Then he turned to the two men who had entered the hall and said, "This is Lord Leylin, who met Jenny while she was on her journey."

"These two must be the treacherous uncles that Jenny said are trying to usurp her father's position." With just a glance, Leylin had, with a lot of interest, sized up these two middle-aged lords.

Lucas, Kermode, and Marquis Argus all looked alike—after all, they were brothers! However, Lucas' eyes were purple and Kermode's eyes emitted a silvery radiance. It was all very strange.

But what caused Leylin to feel startled was that these two uncles' bodies emitted energy waves that were like those of magicians. These two were actually acolytes!

"We greet Lord Leylin!" At this moment, these two lords also respectfully bowed to Leylin. The Marquis found this behavior of theirs very hard-to-believe.

"Respected Lord Leylin, my ancestor Lord Siegfried cordially invites you to visit him and look around his laboratory. Also, he expresses his gratitude to you for having given a helping hand to the Argus Family."

Lucas respectfully conveyed his ancestor's words.

This invitation caused sunken expressions to appear on the Marquis' and his daughter's faces.

In this entire drama, only the foolish youth known as Baelin was unclear on what the significance of this invitation was!

The Magus Siegfried held a position of paramount importance within the Argus Family. Sending this invitation via Lucas and not via the marquis clearly indicated whom Siegfried was supporting.

"I am very honoured." Leylin gave a slight nod and then immediately left the place, following Lucas, all the while not glancing at the ashen-faced marquis and Jenny.

In the secular world, Magi all had very headstrong personalities due to the power they all wielded

Before leaving, Lucas and Kermode looked at Marquis Argus in contempt, making the atmosphere awkward all around.

"What is going on?"

The rather stunned Baelin asked Jenny, having just come out of the daze caused by the recent happenings.

Although Baelin's intuition told him to follow behind Leylin, looking at Jenny caused him to involuntarily remain beside her.

"It's…it's nothing… My family's ancestor wants to meet Lord Leylin."

Jenny was barely able to smile.

Ka-ching!*

A sound of breaking glass was heard as the goblet in Marquis Argus' hands shattered into pieces, crushed by him gripping it too tightly.

……

Leylin, following Lucas and Kermode, arrived at the back half the Argus Family's mansion.

The further he went in, the tighter the security was, but with these two people leading the way, Leylin traveled unhindered, and reached the middle of the rear courtyard.

"Finally! Our ancestor, Lord Siegfried is in here. We ask for your forgiveness, as we are not allowed to accompany you in."

Lucas and Kermode brought Leylin in front of a huge conical tower, and then bowed and left. Each and every movement of them was executed perfectly, showing the flawless deportment of the nobility.

Leylin failed to pay any attention to them, as he was distracted by the white tower in front of him.

"Stability runes, restriction runes and runes which can transmute mud into stone! This is some very good construction. Moreover, I can sense the aura of energy particles in the air. It looks as if within this building, there is a source of at least two elements' energy particles."

Leylin gently stroked the surface of the white tower with admiration in his eyes and sighed.

This white tower, the curves of which were similar to those of a cow's horn, was built by a Magus.

Just the expenses of the solidification runes and the cost of building the pond of energy particles left Leylin in astonishment.

It is a construction worthy of a Magus that has lived for several hundreds of years. If I wanted to set up a tower like this, I would need to spend at least half of the resources that are currently in my pouch…

While thinking this, Leylin sighed.

A specialized and private laboratory held many advantages. Not only was it magically concealed, one could carry out covert experiments within it.

However, since Leylin had no fixed residence, there was no way that he could construct such a tower for himself.

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Gaia's Might

"Haha… an outdated work such as this can also get a sigh of admiration from Magus Leylin? It is indeed my honour!"

At that moment, the door at the base of the white tower opened, revealing a linen-clothed old guy, who grinned at Leylin. It was evident that he had overheard Leylin's deliberate sigh.

"This humble self is Siegfried Argus! I greet Lord Leylin."

This old guy's expression was respectful, and he slightly bent his waist to bow, as was per the Magus' etiquette.

This etiquette was passed down from ancient times, and was something Leylin had only seen in ancient books. He remained unfazed and repeated the same bow as he said, "I, Leylin, greet Lord Siegfried!"

After the perfunctory greetings were done with, Leylin was able to size up this Lord Siegfreid.

Siegfried's style of clothing was very casual, as if it could be torn apart with a single pull. It was more leisurely and comfortable compared to the splendid attire of the lords in the outer hall.

The current Siegfried was not someone that Leylin would associate as being the trump card of a great family. If it weren't for his right-hand, Leylin would have assumed Lord Siegfried was just a peasant farmer.

That was right! His right-hand! This Siegfried's right hand was a robotic limb that gave off an awesome, bright, metallic lustre; even the gears and the welded portions were clearly visible.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

Siegfried extended this right hand as he said, "I shall call you Leylin. I lost my right hand permanently while experimenting with a spell. I know that a flesh and muscle hand can be transplanted, but I find that a mechanical hand is much more useful."

Bang!* Then, his mechanical hand split open into finger-like parts, which were tools like tweezers, scissors, pliers, etc., and they were wildly swaying in mid air, looking like silver colored tassels.

"How is it? This 'hand' was created especially for me, using my specific measurements, by my old friend, an Earth Elf called Grandmaster Oak!"

"Very good." Leylin nodded. This kind of a very precise machine limb is extremely rare even in the south coast and thus Leylin was also not stingy with his praises.

It was clear that this Siegfried was very happy with the admiration from a fellow Magus.

He then invited Leylin into his lab to look.

"Siegfried, did you build an energy particle pond in here?"

Due to Leylin's graceful and cultured mannerisms, he soon became friends with Siegfried. They addressed each other directly by their first names.

This showed how well their relationship had progressed.

While Leylin casually walked around Siegfried's lab, he came in front of what looked like a small pond and he asked this question.

This small pond was surrounded by stable, ferrous metals. On top of the pool was a strange and complex pattern and in the middle of the pool was a khaki-colored liquid.

A large number of energy waves could be felt fluctuating from the pool.

"Yes, I have built here an earth element energy particle pond. This task consumed all of the resources that I have accumulated for nearly a hundred years!"

Siegfried's face appeared to experience a muscle spasm, but the next moment, it was replaced with an expression of pride.

"After building this energy particle pond, the concentration of earth element particles in this place has increased to 55% and the results of my cultivation have been more remarkable when compared to using just meditation techniques."

The element particle pond's ability was not restricted to the one mentioned prior. Magi could use the energy within this pond to replenish themselves in a crucial moment, and the element particles within could be used to attack enemies.

Thus, a Magus having such a pond would be stronger within his own territory when compared with his peers.

With his strength as a semi-converted elemental Magus, within this white tower, Siegfried's attack power would be roughly equal to that of a 70-80% converted elemental Magus.

"Oh, that's right, I haven't properly introduced myself. I am a reputed instructor at the Earth Fire Association, and I cultivated using their high level meditation technique, the Gaia's Might! It is divided into three layers: earth, magma, and organisms. I am currently still in the stage of earth. A high level mediatation technique's progress is too slow…"

Having said this, he looked at Leylin with curiosity, very much interested in the background of this Magus.

"It seems that sharing one's experiences with a high-level meditation technique is a tradition amongst the Magi of the Twilight Zone…" As this information flashed through Leylin's mind, he smiled very modestly, "I come from a very small institute known as Goodlaw! This institute specializes in researching in ancient reptilian creatures. It is very focused in that field. I cultivate with a damaged high level meditation technique called the Sacred Flame! Currently, I am stagnated in the first level of that meditation technique…"

After that, he explained, in simple terms, the first level of the Sacred Flame and its difficulties. As expected, he concealed that mystical ability to predict forthcoming events.

"Hu… Leylin! This meditation technique of yours is quite badly damaged." Stroking his beard, Siegfried's eyes shone as he looked at Leylin. "How about you join our Earth Fire Association? Our high-level meditation techniques are more whole as compared to your Sacred Flame, and moreover, we could continue to share our experiences…"

"No thank you!" Leylin shook his head, "Changing meditation techniques is too dangerous. I advanced to a level 1 Magus by depending on my Sacred Flame technique. I can't get rid of the impact it has on my spiritual force in such a short time. Moreover, I also want to pass on my Goodlaw School's inheritance, as it was my teacher's dying wish that I do so."

Leylin's tone remained firm and unwavering; it spoke of his resolve.

He knew that this invitation of Siegfried's was only small talk, and that it was not actually sincere. Moreover, in a situation where he did not know about the Fire Earth Association, he did not want to rashly become one of its members.

"En! That's right, acolytes can switch meditation techniques, but for a level 1 Magus, after his sea of consciousness is stabilized, it would be extremely troublesome if he decided to switch out his meditation technique."

Siegfried also solemnly agreed; it seemed that a while ago, he had spoken out without thinking.

As for Leylin's background, he did not have a speck of doubt regarding that.

After a memory search on Aaron, and having spent two years in Potter Town, Leylin had already grasped the customs, traditions, and manners of speech of humans of the underworld. He gave no indications that he was not from their world.

In addition, there were countless acolytes in the subterranean world, and schools that had only one or two Magi to pass on the inheritance were similarly too many to count. And perhaps one day when these Magi could not find the right apprentices to inherit meditation techniques, that school would naturally cease existing.

As for other lucky magicians who had obtained high-level meditation techniques, they would be considered the pillars of support for passing down inheritances in their small academies.

Thus, even if he hadn't heard of any Goodlaw, Siegfried believed Leylin to be only a disciple of some small-scale academy—perhaps even a bright shining disciple who was his school's sole Magus. Siegfried even felt some sympathy towards Leylin.

"Not only are high grade meditation techniques easy at first and difficult later, the further one advances the more difficult it becomes to keep advancing. For a Magus to train in them, they must meet some very lofty requirements in regards to their physique and spirit. It would be no easy task for an acolyte to find a complete meditation technique that is suited to him."

Leylin nodded in agreement with what Siegfried said.

With a high-grade meditation technique, a magician at the acolyte or level 1 Magus stage could easily advance, but then onwards, it would become harder. In addition, finding a complete meditation technique that would suit one's own physique depended upon one's character and luck.

Even Leylin was initially unsuitable to practise the Kemoyin's Pupil technique. Only after transplanting the bloodline did he have the qualifications to study that high-level meditation technique.

No matter how difficult it was to advance using a high-level meditation technique, Magi who used such techniques were much better off when compared to those Magi of the south coast who advanced by depending on resources.

Siegfried's magician tower was divided into 5 floors. The lowest floor was where the refined metal puppets stood guard. On the second floor, there were rooms that stored treasures and junk.

The third floor consisted of a magician's garden, a room for cultivation, and a room for training. The fourth floor had the lab and the elemental pool. The fifth and final floor contained his bedroom, a room where he received visitors, and other rooms for similar domestic purposes.

After Leylin had taken a look around the tower, he was invited by Siegfried to go to the fifth floor.

"Now, can you tell me the purpose of your visit, Leylin?"

The two of them had enjoyed their afternoon tea along with some light refreshments before they each took a seat on the sofa. The old man, with a wise expression in his eyes, laughed and then asked Leylin that question.

"Well, the fact is…." Leylin paid attention to how he phrased his next words.

"I have been wandering around in the Woody Wastelands, and do not understand much about the current situation of Magus powers in the capital. After hearing Jenny say that her family had an existence such as yourself, I decided to pay a visit!"

"Another reason is that she and her father had spent a lot of effort in inviting me over."

"Hehe. You are very frank!" Siegfried wore a happy smile. "Regarding these descendants of mine, I have no interest in their matters. In my opinion, they are all a pack of feral wolves, and only an alpha wolf chosen after a bitter competition will have the qualifications to lead the Argus Family."

He let his descendants cruelly fight it out amongst themselves, and from amongst them, he would choose the one who was capable of wielding power within the family.

This kind of speech that was dripping with blood showed the cold and detached outlook of a Magus who had lived a long time.

Leylin could also understand some of Siegfried's thoughts. It seemed that he had already cut off any feelings he had for his close relatives; these blood-related descendants of his were no better than strangers to him.

Because it was like this, Siegfried would be so cold and detached, and consider them as mere beasts or even commodities to be traded.

"Recently, Lucas had contributed an item that was of some use to me, and because of that, I have started favouring him."

Siegfried indifferently talked about the internal disputes in his family, "Of course, if Leylin is taking Jenny's side, then I shall immediately put an end to Lucas' dreams."

As far as Siegfried was concerned, Lucas was but one amongst the younger generation, while Leylin's status was on the same level as his own.

Thus, to strengthen their relationship, no hesitation was needed if sacrificing a small benefit of Lucas was needed.

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Secret Knight Technique

"Oh! No no no! I think you've misunderstood me!" Leylin hurriedly shook his head.

"While I am acquainted to Jenny, I also have no intentions whatsoever to partake in the Argus Family's internal strife!"

Leylin made his stand.

With just one sentence, the calamity that was befalling Jenny and her father would be resolved. Even Lucas would not hold any objections anymore. However, what has all this got to do with Leylin?

Not only that, but after influencing Siegfried's decision Leylin would owe him a favour! Favours are oftentimes the most difficult of things to repay!

Moreover, directly interfering with another Magus' family matters could be seen as being disrespectful.

Whether or not Siegfried chose to mask his emotions, he would definitely be displeased about it.

Leylin did not concern himself with these issues. On one hand, Jenny's father had some worldly factions supporting him while on the other hand, Lucas had the backing of Siegfried. There was simply no hesitation when weighing the benefits.

After all, with his years of experience, he was already used to making decisions by weighing benefits. This was also the principle that Magi practiced.

As expected, after hearing Leylin's words, Siegfried smiled even more broadly. "Leylin, I think you are still unfamiliar with the Magi factions in the capital right? Don't worry, you can pay me a visit to learn more about it whenever you like. I'll also bring you to some Magi organisational places for networking and to make some new friends!"

"That'll be fantastic!" After achieving the goal he came for, Leylin revealed his joy.

Leylin and Siegfried then exchanged some information that they knew about high-grade meditation techniques. Although Siegfried had amassed a bountiful amount of information for 250 years, he was still somewhat amazed by some of the theoretical practices simulated by the A.I. Chip. So much so that he almost wanted to immediately have them undergo practical tests. This was a form of acknowledgement of Leylin's scholarly knowledge. As for Leylin, he respected the time that Siegfried had placed into his experiments.

After their sharing of information, both parties felt that the time spent was extremely short. Hence, only after setting a date for their next meeting did Siegfried reluctantly send Leylin off.

……

Now that Leylin had neglected to help Jenny's father, the series of events that happened could only be expected.

During the Argus Family's council, Lucas had amassed enough backing to take on the role of the next family head and to obtain the status of a Marquis!

During that very same night, the original Marquis died a painful death from a poison attack!

As for Jenny, she was accused of putting poison inside the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud, thereby murdering her father.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was the lowest kind of set-up with a childish ploy. However, Lucas wanted to use this very method to know who stood on his side within the family and at the same time establish his dominance!

This deliberate misrepresentation of making a deer out to be a horse was done to punish Jenny, and to set an example for others.

After using a few lightning quick moves to rid himself of the opposing factions within the family, Lucas had a firm grip on the powers within the Argus Family. The entire family implicitly allowed this to carry on, and even corroborated the story of Jenny poisoning her own father!

Power struggles were often this harsh. Win, and become king. Lose, and become a dog. This was but another example of the bloody battles in this dog eat dog world.

"Hu..Huu…"

Jenny dashed rapidly through a dark forest.

This girl of noble birth had now lost her elegant and haughty appearance. Her skirt had already been torn apart by the shrubberies. Blood streaked her face and she had an extremely miserable appearance; worse than a beggar's.

"Dearest father!" Tears streaked down her face as she continued running.

The events had transpired so quickly that they left Jenny thinking that the whole thing was all but a dream.

Her backing, which was her very own father, had died just like that through a conspiracy. Worse yet, she was labelled as the murderer!

Dear heavens! Jenny did not know how perverted one had to be to brandish her as the murderer!

However, what followed next left her speechless. Under the immense political power, such absurdity was validated by the others, and even labelled her as a wanted criminal.

In fact, if not for the few loyal servants and kin who had tipped her off and protected her along the way, she would definitely not be able to escape with just her strength as a level 1 acolyte.

Of course, after helping her, those close ones encountered terrible fates.

Plop!* Jenny stumbled on a tree root as she ran. Mud was splashed in the area as this young lady sobbed spasmodically as she knelt on the ground.

Even if she managed to escape this time, what good would there be ahead of her? Be it other nobles or even the common folk, she would be seen as a murderer. Her eventual outcome would either to be caught and be sentenced to execution, or to hide her name and honour in dirt, never revealing her identity. Just from thinking about this fact, Jenny adopted a bleak outlook for her future.

"Wuu…Why…Why did things turn out this way?" Jenny cried.

"Jejeje! Look at the pathetic state you're in!"

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded behind her back, leaving shudders throughout her body.

She turned around and saw a tall Knight in armour, who had a malevolent scar across his face.

"'Dagger' Todd, one of my father's personal bodyguards, even you dare to betray me?"

This man had the terrifying strength of a Grand Knight, and was even one of her father's own bodyguards, and as such commanded quite a lot of trust.

Todd only sniggered towards the lamentations of the young lady. However, his smile made his scarred face look even more horrifying.

"In fact, I've always been on Lucas' side. So there is no betrayal per se!"

Jenny's pupils dilated as she suddenly got a bad premonition.

"And as the reward of being an undercover operative, Lord Lucas has allowed me to seek pleasure with you before killing you!" Todd licked his lips and revealed a wanton grin.

"Five years! A full five years of listening to you call me Uncle Todd! In reality, during my duties I have thought frequently of possessing you, feasting on you, ripping you!"

"You! You sick pervert!" After listening to the man admitting to the desires of wanting her even since she was a ten year old girl, Jenny's hair stood on ends.

"Yes! I'm a pervert, but what can you do about it? Missy of the Argus Family!"

Todd advanced as he peeled off his gloves, "Relax, I will give you a great time…"

Jenny scuttled backwards, as if Todd was some kind of terrifying beast.

However, Todd was, in this moment, worse than a monster!

"Save me! Help, someone please save me!"

The girl wailed helplessly as tears streamed down her face.

"Stop!"

"At this moment, a extremely youthful voice sounded. What followed soon after was the wind caused from a blade being swung!

"Eh?" Todd jumped back and looked at the lad who had emerged from nowhere.

"Baelin!" Jenny snuggled into Baelin's arms as she sobbed quietly.

"You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Baelin stared coldly at the large Knight in front of him. He seethed in fury, for had he arrived a moment later, something bad would have happened to Jenny.

It was the first time in his life that Baelin wanted to kill someone so badly!

"Kill me? Are you able to?" Todd unsheathed the sword hung at his waist. "You must be this missy's lover! I've decided that I will first chop off your four limbs, then take her right in front of you! At the time, your expression will definitely be extremely fascinating to watch. Perhaps, you can even join us…"

Todd licked his lips and smirked.

"Arghhhh….!" Baelin swung his cross blade that carried a flash of white light as he could not bear to listen for a moment longer.

"Grand Knight!" Todd turned solemn immediately.

His giant sword was swung forward as it clashed with the cross blade, emitting sparks.

Clang Clang Clang!* Todd retreated several steps. "What power!" The vibrations sent from Baelin's swing left his hands somewhat numb.

"Kill him Baelin! Kill him!" Jenny wailed loudly behind Baelin.

Under the encouragement of his loved one, Baelin advanced and struck, sending Todd staggering backwards by several steps.

"Ping!" Just as the two weapons clashed, Todd suddenly released his giant sword and rushed to Baelin's side like a sweeping wind.

Ka-cha!* A black dagger suddenly appeared in his hand and pierced towards Baelin's heart like a venomous snake!

Baelin struggled to move his body away, and a layer of spiritual life force appeared on his chest. *Pak!* As if thin leather, the dagger pierced through and left a deep gash on Baelin's chest, allowing blood to flow profusely.

Shing!* Todd suddenly appeared from a distance away as he licked the edge of his dagger.

"Now you'd know why they call me 'Dagger' huh? Because I like to cut the flesh of my prey with this dagger, and then watch them die of anguish!"

Todd's face turned red and he spoke excitedly, "Your blood is the tastiest I've ever tried!"

"Secret Gale Technique!" Todd shouted and spiritual life force wrapped around his calves.

Shik Shik!* He advanced again, this time even faster than before!

"Damn it! Secret technique, Cross Star!"

After suffering from several more wounds, Baelin could not bear it any longer and shouted.

Weng!* His body suddenly doubled in size as a layer of translucent armour protected him.

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Chamber of Commerce

"Ka-cha!"

Todd's black dagger slashed across the translucent armour, but it harmlessly bounced off.

"It's a defensive secret technique!" Todd's eyes gleamed.

There were many secret techniques for Grand Knights, but many of them were just a large boost in a single attribute.

For example, Todd's secret technique focused on speed, raising it to twice his original speed!

From what he could see, Baelin had mustered a technique that boosted his defense.

"Dummy, once your technique wears off, you will still be slain by me!" A sinister smile appeared on Todd's face.

However, Baelin suddenly moved!

Speed! Baelin was extremely quick; as he moved, his translucent armour created a shrill noise from the wind passing through.

Todd could only see the bare afterimages!

"It's…actually the two attributes buff!" Todd cried out hoarsely, yet the greed in his eyes only grew more apparent.

Such a technique was of a considerably high grade that existed only in myths. Even the Argus Family had not seen anyone wielding such a technique for the longest of times.

However, Todd did not have much time to think. Baelin had already appeared in front of him as he raised his cross blade, furiously slashing down at Todd.

"Clang!" Todd jumped back and parried with the dagger in his hand.

Peng!" As the two weapons clashed, Todd's dagger was sent flying out of his grip.

"There is even a strength buff! Three attributes! A secret technique that buffs three areas!" Todd's mind was blank at this moment. A two attributes buff was not unheard of, but this three attributes buff of a Grand Knight level was practically unheard of, even in legends!

However, Baelin had no desire to explain things to him.

He charged forward and swung his sword at Todd's neck.

Pu!* The head that carried a scarred face was sent flying, as a blood fountain gushed to a metre's height from the neck.

"Jenny, are you alright?!"

Baelin dispelled the translucent armour and rushed to Jenny's side.

"I… I'm alright!" Jenny replied involuntarily, before seeing Baelin collapse at her side.

Although the Cross Star was a technique taught to him by Leylin, who was not a Grand Knight, the might of it exceeded that of other Grand Knight techniques, but still retained the same properties of a Grand Knight technique!

As for Baelin, who had activated this technique, he entered a feeble state. Even raising an arm was too difficult for him; only his eyes and mouth could just barely move.

"You… why are you this silly? This does not even concern you…" Jenny wept, and tears once again streamed down her face.

"Keke…I'm fine!" Baelin tried his best to mask his current weakened state, but it was all done in vain.

"I've thought about it—let's seek asylum from Lord Leylin! He will definitely be able to protect you!" Baelin spoke what's on his mind.

"… We can't do that!" Jenny wryly smiled and replied.

"Baelin! Can't you discern the truth from this misfortune? Lord Leylin has already abandoned me!" Jenny smiled bitterly, "You had better return to Lord Leylin, where he can protect you! Lucas won't be able to cause you any harm…"

"No!" Baelin's face flushed red. "I won't leave you even if I die!"

"Baelin!" Jenny crouched down as both of them engaged in a passionate kiss.

After the long and intense tongue fight, Baelin seemed to have changed immediately. "Let us go! To the middle region! To where the dark elves' kingdoms are! To the area of darkness! Whatever it is, let us leave here to a place where no one can find us, and live happily ever after!"

"Alright!"

Jenny resolutely replied.

The two exchange gazes and smiled brightly.

……

"Huh! It seems as though Baelin has decided to leave!"

Leylin ruminated in amusement as he saw the extremely tidy and neat room, in which a letter lay on the table.

To him, Baelin was only a pet that he was raising while nursing his injury.

As for the current Leylin, he had already returned to the right path, and no longer had time to take care of Baelin. Perhaps it was the best choice to allow him to leave.

Furthermore, Leylin did not have much use for Baelin. Even if he was turned into a Branded Swordsman, the strength of a rank 1 Magus was not sufficient to aid Leylin.

"However, this is my first time having good intentions! I hope you can pass down my cross blade technique throughout the Twilight Zone and not ruin the name of my Farlier family…"

A profound light flashed in Leylin's \eyes.

Through the sense of the Sacred Flame he had, he already knew that Baelin and Jenny were not regular folks. What's more, they would be taking the stage in Twilight Zone as the 'main characters'!

One would expect that in the near future, they would definitely not have any sort of peaceful lives—troubles would come searching for them one after another.

"But only then are things interesting! My setup can finally be put to good use!"

Leylin smiled gently, before putting this matter at the back of his head.

Today was the day that he had set with Siegfried to meet other official Magus. Leylin had been anticipating this day for quite a while.

"So it's here?"

Leylin and Siegfried, dressed in common folk clothes, walked into an extremely lavish shop.

"Gersi's Chamber of Commerce, the most outstanding conclave in the whole of the eastern Twilight Zone. Some of the nobility even know that there is a Magi organisation supporting this conclave from the shadows…"

Siegfried smiled as he explained this to Leylin.

Although they spoke as if no one was beside them, their voices did not travel far enough for the people in the surroundings to hear.

"As for us, the other Magi who are in small associations or are wandering around, we like to gather here for a couple of days and exchange some valuable insights gleaned from recent experiments or the experience gained from meditation techniques. Sometimes trades will be conducted too. Of course, all these are only restricted to the official Magus level."

Siegfried wore a large black glove, hiding his metal prosthetic limb within it.

"Welcome! How may I help you?"

Two beautiful maidservants came over and asked after Siegfried stepped into Gersi's Chamber of Commerce.

"Take me to the VIP room!" Siegfried handed a gold card to the maidservant, whose eyes immediately started to shine.

"My two Lords, please follow me!" She bowed deeply, showing off the curves of her chest. As she led the way, she exaggeratedly swayed her hips.

"How is it? Do you want to play for a while?" Siegfried asked Leylin with a smile on his face.

"I have no such urges now, so maybe after this!" Leylin smiled indifferently and replied.

As the maidservant in front heard Leylin's words, disappointment streaked across her face.

Although she was somewhat disappointed, the maid still quickly brought them to an extremely lavishly decorated room. "My apologies! As my level is not high enough, our manager will take over and assist you from here!"

The girl bowed again and took her leave.

"Our Magus VIP cards are different from others, so the person who is serving us next will know our requirements and will bring us to the conclave!"

Siegfried explained the process simply to Leylin.

"The membership registration is extremely simple. You need to first reach the rank of an official Magus, and then have another Magus refer you. I'll set a referral up for you later!"

"I appreciate it!" Leylin smiled gently.

Boom!* At this moment, an oil painting in the VIP room swung open, revealing a flight of stairs.

"Honoured guests, please follow me!"

An upper-class woman with the spiritual force of a level 3 acolyte appeared in the tunnel. Her skin was flawless and white like porcelain, without any traces of pores.

"Alright!" Siegfried nodded his head and allowed the lady to lead the way.

However, he spoke to Leylin without the lady hearing. "She is an example of the high-grade goods that Gersi's Chamber of Commerce is offering. If you're interested, you can apply to purchase a few of them later. The chamber is rather generous to the newcomers' needs…"

"A slave at the level of an acolyte?" Leylin was in shock. This level of a slave was much better than the ones appearing in the Nightless City on the south coast.

Back in Nightless City, Leylin, who was a rank 1 Magus, had only managed to purchase a level 3, old geezer acolyte who was nearing the end of his life.

Evidently, even though both of them were level 3 acolytes, a charming lady would definitely command a higher price than a dying old geezer.

The passage was rather short, and after a couple minutes, they soon reached the end.

After opening the door, Leylin was brought into a great hall.

The light of multiple sun stones penetrated through the crystals in the four corners of the hall, illuminating every corner of the hall.

At this moment, Magi were seated in different circles while chatting in soft voices.

Upon their tables were several green fruits and drinks. Apart from that, many delicacies that were unknown to Leylin were placed there for the Magi's taking, yet very few bothered to taste them.

"Come! I'll bring you to see some of my friends!"

After looking around, Siegfried eyes lit up after he noticed a group of red haired Magi sitting in one of the circles, and he promptly dragged Leylin over to them.

"Here! These are the Magi from the Earth Fire Association, and they are also my friends! As for him, this is Mister Leylin, a wandering Magus who had recently come to our eastern capital…"

Siegfried made the introductions on both sides, and Leylin smiled and sent his greetings to the group of Magi.

Together with Leylin's disposition as a noble and his increased charisma due to the fact that he was a Warlock, he very soon managed to break the ice and began to mingle with them.

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Icy Jade Scorpion Breath

Leylin looked at the members of the Earth Fire Association

The Magi sitting here were rather few. Including Leylin and Siegfried, they only amounted to 5 people.

No matter if it was the south coast or the Twilight Zone, it was not easy to advance to an official Magus. However, once someone advanced, their status and position would undergo massive changes.

"When I had recently studied Gaia's Might, I felt that it was very difficult to attract the earth element energy particles. It was especially so on the topic of gathering Gaia's aura…"

At this moment, one of the red-haired Magi impatiently began to talk.

"For that, I believe an energy particle pond will help you…" Siegfried interrupted with his own opinion.

"That is not realistic! It consumes too many resources! I suggest using 3 kinds of meditation assisting runes, but then there is the problem of impurities in your spiritual force later on…"

Leylin found that these Magi of the Earth Fire Association discussed quite a bit about their experiences while training using their high-level meditation technique, Gaia's Might.

Some of the problems discussed had been researched very thoroughly, and it helped Leylin a little bit in his cultivation and perfection of his Sacred Flame and Kemoyin's Pupil.

The common practice in the Twilight Zone was like this: people would get together and discuss their experiences in meditation techniques, and thus hope to jointly advance.

Of course, one was delusional if they thought that just relying on these casually discussed phrases would help in the completion of Gaia's Might. Thus, these Magi were not worried that their cultivation secrets would be leaked.

When it was Leylin's turn to share his experience, he talked about his breakthrough through a small bottleneck, which led to some reminiscing among the other Magi.

Although it had only taken him a short time to advance to a rank 2 Magus, his Kemoyin's Pupil had also advanced to the second level, which was considered a high level. Moreover, after obtaining another high-level meditation technique called Sacred Flame, under the constantly inferred data by the A.I. Chip, Leylin's understanding of meditation techniques had far surpassed the knowledge of these old geezers who had immersed themselves in meditation techniques for several hundreds of years!

"It seems that later on, one must not only bitterly cultivate by themselves but also often exchange experiences with their peers."

Just this one discussion had given Leylin new ideas for resolving the complexities and misunderstandings he had with his own meditation techniques. This was despite the fact that this discussion was only pertaining to the Gaia's Might, which was not the meditation technique Leylin practised!

Furthermore, relying on the information collected by the A.I. Chip this time, Leylin could derive a deeper understanding of his two meditation techniques.

This was only natural, as Magi followed the ancient principle of equal exchange among themselves.

Leylin paid attention to the fact that these Magi only talked about general things and the mentioning of the various means of doing something.

The genuine, concrete details could only be mutually exchanged between two Magi in a way like a business transaction, and strict confidentiality was expected between these two parties that had made the transaction.

Just now, Siegfried had sold some information related to the energy particle pond, and had got a huge remuneration.

After the public information exchange session was over, the next session was the transactions between two people.

If one was an official Magus, then they could set up a table with items to be sold and await customers.

The atmosphere here was completely different from that of the open-air stalls and street vendors.

Magi were not very eager to strike a deal, but rather, they loved to showcase and play with their precious resources. It was a common sight to see both buyer and seller chatting and smiling; some even had wine out to toast their successful trades.

Unfortunately, although these underground resources were also very valuable, most of them held no interest for Leylin.

With the A.I. Chip's knowledge of some ancient information, he could easily identify the items on display and recognize their names and origins. It was a pity that while these resources were useful for a level 1 Magus, they were of no use to Leylin, who had already advanced to a level 2 Magus.

However, after all was said and done, the underworld was not the same as the south coast. Leylin did not recognise some of the items on display, and as a result, his curiosity was piqued.

"What is this?"

Leylin walked up to a table just ahead and picked up an item that had been placed on a white tablecloth.

It was a uniquely shaped bone flute, with one side having some irregular, round holes.

"This is the Saxon bagpipes, which was inherited from the McKinsey era's Leighton archduchy. It is said the tune it produces is very beautiful, even surpassing the songs sung by mermaids. Thus, it can be used as bait to trap mermaids. Unfortunately, ever since the Leighton archduchy's destruction, there hasn't been anyone who knows how to play this instrument…"

The seller was a middle-aged fellow who was suitably attired for this occasion. In his hand was a long-stemmed wine glass full of a dark-red wine.

"I am very interested in these kinds of ancient musical instruments. I have currently already acquired 3912 varieties of musical instruments from different eras, and have housed them in my collection room. However, this item that I'm holding right now will not be able to shine on my hands, so I am in search of a more suitable owner"

The middle-aged gentleman's face appeared regretful as if he was saying goodbye to his own lover

"If you can use this item to play the ancient Requiem, then it is all yours." He raised his glass of wine to toast Leylin.

"Umm! I beg your pardon, but I have only a little understanding in playing a musical instrument…"

Leylin was somewhat silent, but this was also the norm for Magi. Due to their long lifespans, apart from always doing experiments and cultivating, Magi also took some time to have some extra fun.

Preferring to hoard some special kind of collectibles was not a very common or safe hobby. Some dark Magi even experienced a big change in their temperaments, as they got addicted to collecting strange collectibles—some of which even reeked of blood—and finally caused harm to others and themselves.

"That is truly regrettable! However, one day, I will definitely be able to find its genuine owner." This gentleman seemed to truly feel regret and sighed. "Come! Let us drink to the moment that my precious item will find its owner! Toast!"

"Cheers!" Leylin inwardly sneered, but still picked up a glass of orange juice. Then middle-aged gentleman touched his glass to Leylin's, issuing a clear 'ding' sound.

There were but a few in this trading session like this strange, gentlemanly Magus. Most of the Magi were doing their exchanges quietly. There were some who had clearly defined that their items could only be exchanged for items or resources, while the others also accepted magic crystals and completed their transactions.

In the Twilight Zone, magic crystals were also a commonly used currency among Magi.

Leylin exploited those transactions that used magic crystals to buy several resources that could only be found in the Twilight Zone, intending to go back and look over each of them thoroughly.

Because he was worried that both parties' magic crystals might have subtle differences, Leylin had purified all the magic crystals he had brought from the south coast and had converted them into magic crystals with the purest essence he could produce.

Magic crystals with this kind of purity were just like that magic crystal used by Leylin when he had opened the ancient teleportation formation. This was because after undergoing the purification process many times, it was now impossible to find any characteristics of the south coast in Leylin's magic crystals.

It was just like that matter with the gold coins. The decorative design on the gold coins from the south coast was not too similar to those from Twilight Zone, but Leylin had melted down all his gold coins into a lump of gold so that no person would be able to tell that it was from the south coast.

"Ehhh??"

While Leylin was walking around, he was occasionally observing the other Magi bargaining, trading, and so on, silently watching and learning from them. At this time, however, something on a white table caught his attention.

"What is this?"

Leylin picked up an item that looked like a shard of ice from the white table, appearing to be interested in that item.

This ice shard was preserved within a green jade box as if it was a very valuable treasure.

However, this feature wasn't why it had caught Leylin's eye.

While he was walking to this table, he had felt a movement in his blood essence, as if it were reacting to some item, and that item was this ice shard.

At this moment, while Leylin was holding onto the ice shard with both his hands, the sensation he had felt before had now intensified.

Zi! Zi*! A white mist appeared out from that ice shard and very quickly condensed into a layer of thick frost that froze Leylin's fingers.

This degree of white frost could not do any harm to Leylin, but he still was pleasantly surprised to find that when this cold air invaded him, there was an odd change that had occurred to the Kemoyin's bloodline in his body.

This feeling, it is as if a person who was burning with rage suddenly had ice-cold water poured on him. It really is very enjoyable!

Leylin heaved a mental sigh.

A Warlock's emotional instability was a bloodline illness, and it had already caused Leylin trouble for a long time. Although the A.I. Chip, in accordance with the research notes and the original prescription of the tranquility potion left behind by the Great Magus Serholm, had allocated more of the high-level tranquility potion, in the end, it could only suppress the illness, and could not completely cure it.

Now, this ice shard-like item in his hand caused him to feel some hope!

"I feel that this item I am holding can suppress the negative effects on my emotions for at least a year! If I find more items like these, then perhaps the emotional instabilities can be completely cured."

A joyous sparkle appeared in Leylin's eyes, but it was quickly concealed.

He did not want to expose any emotion before he got his hands on the name and origin of the ice-shard.

"This is the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath. Icy Jade Scorpions live deep within ice caves, and their saliva has the effect of boosting the advancement of plenty of ice element high-level meditation techniques. It is being sold for 500,000 magic crystals, or can be exchanged for an item of similar worth…"

In front of Leylin was an extremely beautiful female Magus.

Her long purple robes could not hide the curves of the body. Instead, it was even more enchanting as the robes failed to conceal them. Her light purple hair was let down like a waterfall, and her exquisite face carried a smile.

This woman's looks definitely ranked in the top ten of all females Leylin had ever seen, and in addition, she looked extremely intelligent and capable.

"I have an experiment which requires a large amount of this item; can you bring me to the ice cave? Or perhaps, I can purchase them in bulk"

From the smile of the woman, Leylin knew that she had seen through his urgent need for the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath, so he just calmly admitted it.

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Research And Experiment

Meanwhile, a magic crystal was tossed onto the table.

Leylin kept the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath in his palm with no intentions of returning it.

"Is it just an experiment?"

The purple-haired Magus said with a grin. The magic crystal on the table flew into her hands, leaving behind a flickering black afterimage.

Leylin merely looked at her with a vacant stare, as if what he had said was the truth.

"Alright then!" The female Magus elegantly raised her finger, on which her fingernail had been painted with the red sap of a daffodil, and kept the magic crystal.

"I'm Celine! You can contact me in the future for more information regarding the Icy Jade Scorpion. This is my secret imprint!"

She then passed her secret imprint, which looked like a purple daffodil, to Leylin.

Leylin nodded and left the area, and right after that, a plump Magus walked up to Celine and began to chat with her earnestly.

"Leylin, my friend! Where are you going?"

At this moment, Siegfried strolled up to where he was.

"You came at the right time. Do you know who that purple haired female Magus is?" Leylin pointed at the female Magus who occasionally covered her mouth and giggled while conversing animatedly with the plump Magus.

"Oh! That's Celine, the inheritor of a small guild. Although the guild's strength isn't much, she is a famous beauty of the eastern capital! However, she's extremely crafty, and many Magi who have harboured designs on her have suffered. She's not someone you'd want to provoke…"

Siegfried looked at Leylin before grinning. "Why? Are you interested in her?"

"No! We just had some dealings previously."

After listening to Siegfried's explanation, he was even more sure that Celine was not a simple woman. The grip he had on the box unconsciously tightened.

However, the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath was paramount to his path as a Warlock, so he absolutely could not miss this chance.

"It seems like I'll have to play with this vixen for a while!"

Leylin smiled as he glanced at Celine.

……

In the eastern capital, within the villa that Leylin bought.

After Baelin's silent farewell, only Leylin was left as the sole occupant of the grand villa. As Leylin had not bought any slaves, it felt rather empty in here.

At this moment, Leylin had separately constructed a concealed tunnel in the underground cellar.

At the end of the tunnel was a spacious underground lab, at the centre of which was a silver metal experimental desk with test-tubes lying on top of it. All of these things were items that Leylin had brought along with him.

"What a strange item!"

At this moment, Leylin used silver tweezers and held the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath as blue light shined in his eyes.

With the aid of the microscopic analysing abilities of the A.I. Chip, the surface on the icy shard continuously enlarged, finally revealing a strange rune with six sides.

Chilliness churned and emanated from this strange rune.

[Beep! The analysis of the components of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath is complete! Creating matrixes and images! Beginning simulation of the experiments on bloodline!]

Soon, the A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

"Let's begin!" Leylin inhaled deeply.

[Authorisation received. Beginning the simulation of experiment on bloodline!] The A.I. Chip worked on the data. Leylin's eyes blurred as he seemed to enter a different dimension. He could vaguely make out a translucent human figure with purple blood running through their veins.

[Injecting the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!] With the A.I. Chip's voice, two thin metal needles pierced the humanoid figure at the shoulders, and images then showed a strange white liquid flowing into the body.

Huala!* Once the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath had entered the body, it frothed as if hot oil had met with icy water, creating a very strong reaction.

The experimented-on body began to shake violently, and the numbers which represented the data of the figure changed wildly, almost turning into a blur.

[Blood flow and pressure are increased, and burden on the body is multiplied by five!]

From time to time, the A.I. Chip would update and interpret the new figures for Leylin.

"Begin the radiation of energy particles! Stabilise the vitality within!" Leylin ordered once again.

Soon, black Dark elemental energy particles began to emanate from the experimental body, and under such radiation, the body slowly began to stabilise.

Finally, the experimental body returned to its original state, and the purple blood in the body continued to flow, just like wine inside a glass.

The main difference was that the blood had dulled a little and become darker.

[Warlock's bloodline emotional stability experiment was successful! Estimated time for suppressing the core emotional waves: 345 days, 13 hours.] The A.I Chip gave an accurate analysis of the experiment.

"If the dosage is increased, could it prevent any troubles in the future?" Leylin asked the A.I. Chip.

[Data is insufficient. Analysing the data's probabilities…] The A.I. Chip once again went into a computing mode.

Only after five hours had passed did the A.I. Chip come up with a reply. [Success rate is 67%. Requires more high-level Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath.]

"As expected! This kind of Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath can really cure problems with Warlocks' emotions."

Leylin's eyes shone brightly with happiness.

Although the ancient bloodline Warlocks had powerful physiques and magic capabilities, it was very difficult for them to advance.

However, this was not the main reason why the Warlock inheritance declined!

As a result of their access to powerful ancient bloodlines, a Warlock would also inherit the intact genes—which were deeply imbued with tyrannical and terrifying emotions—of ancient predators.

Because of this, a Warlock's personality was often irascible, and they were quick-tempered, which was a fatal flaw in the Magus world.

No matter how powerful one was, what was the point in having such power if one could not control their own spirit?

Therefore, the calm and rational Magi could pass on their legacies. However, there were no traces of Warlocks on the south coast and Twilight Zone; perhaps only the central continent had some of the legacies left behind by Warlocks.

"Icy Jade Scorpion!"

Leylin quickly sorted out all the information he had related to this organism.

After being told the name of this crystal, Leylin began an intensive study on the characteristics, habitats, capabilities, etc. of this organism, and gathered all of the relevant data.

"Icy Jade Scorpion, a high energy organism that reaches the might of a rank 1 Magus in its adult stages. In search of fertile lands, they often reside in icy caves! Legend has it that they came from another world back in ancient times, and after entering the Twilight Zone, they underwent some evolutionary changes. Only the special radiation reflected from certain types of topaz are able to sustain their lives and reproduction capabilities. Their crystallised breath is known to have stimulating effects on certain high-grade meditation techniques."

This was a brief summary of all the information Leylin had gathered.

The icy cave's resources had already been monopolised by several guilds, and was in the process of being excavated. It would be extremely difficult for Leylin to enter on his own.

"No matter what, I have to obtain the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!" Flames of desire glinted in Leylin's eyes, "Even if the heavens fall and the earth crumbles, I will not stop under any circumstances!"

Suppressing a bloodline Warlock's emotional instability proved to be extremely difficult, as even though there were so many ancient Magi, they could only discover ways to suppress it. If not for Leylin having the A.I. Chip and bloodline acting as a reminder, he definitely would not have been able to discover the use of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath this easily.

Leylin did not feel that he would chance upon such a lucky encounter again!

"However, using the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath as a suppressant may not work for all Warlocks, and may not even work for others with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline. However, the A.I. Chip managed to find a resource that is able to work specifically for me!"

Leylin's face was extremely solemn.

There were no remedies to treat the emotional instability of Warlocks. Also, due to the difference in bloodlines, each Warlock had a unique bodily attribute. Hence, Leylin himself was not sure whether the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath would be effective.

It was very likely that the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath would aid Leylin, but not another Warlock with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's bloodline.

In other words, the unique characteristics of this resource made it especially effective for Leylin!

Furthermore, the rise and fall of other Warlocks was of no concern to Leylin! He only cared that the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath was useful to him, and that he needed more of it. It would be best if he could find another Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath of higher quality.

"I'll have to plan for this! I need a calm and collected mind!"

Leylin looked at the icy shard between the tweezers.

"Through the experimentation on the A.I. Chip, I now know that although the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath can suppress my mental fluctuations and allow me to be sane for close to a year, there will also be some side effects. I have to concoct some potions to get rid of these side effects!"

This would not stump Leylin at all. After residing in Four Seasons Garden for such a long time, Leylin was no longer a Potion Master who had just advanced.

The Four Seasons Garden was a large-scaled power that was formed of potion masters. They had various information on all sorts of potions, as well as ideas on concocting ancient potions, and these experiments were not too difficult.

Naturally, Leylin had absorbed all of the information stored within the Four Seasons Garden like a sponge, all while practising his potioneering skills at the same time.

Through various trades and experiments, Leylin estimated that his skills had far surpassed that of his mentor, Professor Kroft, after leaving the Four Seasons Garden, and had even reached the realm of a Potion Grandmaster!

A Potions Grandmaster! Their success rate for brewing high-grade potions was around 30%, and they could even research and try brewing new types of potions on their own!

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Negotiations

There were only a few Potion Masters in the entire south coast, and they were all pursued and worshipped by many major powers.

Hence, Leylin did not dare to expose his attainment in potioneering.

Advancing to rank 2 at his age was already heaven-defying, but if he revealed his skill in potioneering, he would be called not a normal genius, but a freak of nature!

A Potion Master's progress was not dependent on his theory research—he had to do a great amount of practical work. Only after wasting lots of resources could he get plenty of experience and thus make progress.

Even if Leylin was freakishly talented, he simply could not be promoted to a higher level in potioneering without doing anything.

If many Magi decided to investigate him, the existence of his A.I. Chip might even be exposed!

Because of this, Leylin had always concealed his genuine realm in Potions, choosing to stay silent regarding this.

The most important aspect of a Potions Master was innovation! By relying on their wealth of knowledge and experience, they could improvise formulas and still attain a very high success rate.

Thanks to Leylin's current attainments in potioneering, he only had to think for a short while before being able to recall several formulas to be used together with Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath that would negate its side effects.

"En! In order to completely eliminate the side-effects of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath, I'll need Arrow Frog Venom, Reddish Stony Feces, and the egg of the Black Mountain Goat, and then I'll be able to start the neutralisation process… "

Leylin eventually selected a formula. "Coincidentally, I have one portion of all of these items!"

Soon after, he was deeply immersed in the brewing process.

The usage of this Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath concerned the success or failure of eliminating the side effects from his bloodline, and thus, he had to be serious.

……

Two days passed before Leylin emerged from his laboratory.

There were slight differences between his condition from 2 days ago and now. His personality had become colder, and he now gave off an unapproachable aura. His skin had turned softer, and it constantly emitted a jade-like luster.

A chilliness seemed to emit from his black hair, decreasing the surrounding temperature by a few degrees.

After having brewed the potion, Leylin was itching to make use of it and see if it would successfully suppress his bloodline.

The A.I. Chip had already given Leylin definite assurance that while the potion was in effect, even if Leylin was to take part in bloody battles every day, the effects of his bloodline wouldn't corrupt his rational thinking.

Only now did Leylin have the confidence to research on the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath.

"Siegfried! Previously, I asked you to get some intelligence about Celine's guild. Is there any news on that matter?"

"Celine! I now have some time, so tell me where it is! We can go there directly and talk in person about the matter concerning the Icy Jade Scorpion!"

The first thing Leylin did was send out two short messages using secret imprints.

A few minutes later, he received an answer. A khaki coloured imprint of a mechanical arm shone upon the contact book.

"I had previously gathered some intelligence, and coupled with your generous reward, I have already gotten a better understanding of Nature's Alliance. I'll pass on the information to you later."

Siegfried conveyed some good news to Leylin.

"Thank you! I will come and visit you later." Leylin smiled.

Compared to Siegfried, Celine's answer was much simpler. There was a time and a place, and everything else could only be discussed once they reached the place.

"What a shrewd woman!" Leylin evaluated. "I just hope you don't go and get yourself ensnared too!"

……

"This is the place." Leylin had arrived in front of an elegant office in the eastern capital.

This building was rather different from the usual structures of the subterranean world, which placed an emphasis on defence. Here, it was extremely majestic and sought to be elegant and pleasing to the eye—it was adorned with all sorts of flowers and plants, while its defence was unbelievably weak.

This contrasting style, along with the top-class luxurious items inside, had attracted the attention of several aristocrats, causing them to rush madly towards this place. However, it implemented a very strict system for its members, and only a limited number of customers were received. The supporter of this place was also extremely firm, and after rejecting the requests of a few aristocratic families, the demand sharply dropped.

Leylin entered this office and began to recall the information Siegfried had given him.

Nature's Alliance—this was the guild that Celine was in. It was said that this small sized guild had affinities with various plants from another world, and their greenhouse handling of plants and research of these plants were extremely unique and cutting edge.

Furthermore, although the high-grade meditation technique of the Nature Alliance did not have strong fighting abilities, it was extremely useful in playing the role of support. Furthermore, the training in this technique allowed the practitioner to permanently change their appearance slightly, turning them into handsome men and pretty ladies that would be able to attract pursuit from the opposite sex.

Lastly, the Magi that graduated from these guilds were completely different from traditional Magi with their stubbornness and unwillingness to communicate with others. Most of them were intelligent, capable, and extremely adept at socialising. They had quite a good reputation outside, and even had a good relationship with other small guilds.

This was all the information Siegfried had gathered regarding the guild behind Celine.

Leylin had also found much valuable information from within. "Changing their appearance, being good at socialising, having a powerful backing… It looks like the high-grade meditation technique of Nature's Alliance can't directly increase one's strength. It might increase one's charisma or illusory abilities!"

"In addition, they have a good relationship with most small guilds, and a few medium-sized guilds. This means that it's almost impossible for there to be a rank 2 or higher Magus in charge, else it would have long since become a large-scale guild."

If Leylin was still a rank 2 Warlock, he would naturally force his way through. However, as he was still sustaining an injury and could not yet use his full power, he had to remain low-key indefinitely and not attract unwarranted attention from Magi who were rank 2 and above. Hence, he had to be patient and enter the game that this wily vixen Celine was playing.

"Hello, Mister! Do you have an appointment?"

As Leylin stepped in, he was respectfully stopped by two maidservants. As they greeted him, Leylin caught a whiff of an extremely simple yet elegant perfume. The two maidservants were dressed extremely well, and they clearly had training in their poise, which could rival that of women in nobility.

However, the few Knights that stood behind the maidservants were enough to cause people to dispel their stray thoughts.

"I have an appointment with Celine!" Leylin answered.

"Lord Leylin, please follow me!" After hearing Celine's name, the two maidservants' bodies shuddered slightly and they became more respectful to Leylin.

"Lord Celine is waiting for you in the Horizon Pavilion!"

"Horizon Pavilion? Isn't that the guestroom that is reserved for people of the highest importance?" A passing noble youth squealed, attracting the attention of passers-by.

"I haven't heard wrongly, it is the Horizon Pavilion!"

"Exactly what background does this young man have? I haven't heard anything about a noble paying a visit…"

From a secret hall nearby, all sorts of mutters could be heard. Though their voices were extremely low and quiet, they were still able to travel into Leylin's ear.

Leylin followed behind the maidservants. Under everyone's astonished gazes, he headed towards the meeting point designated for the people of highest importance.

After walking through several corridors that were lined with flowers and plants, Leylin finally reached the Horizon Pavilion.

The two maidservants opened the door for Leylin before retreating.

Mist! A layer of thin white mist engulfed the entire room, and in certain corners of the room were the glittering of jewels, making the place more magnificent than before, its picturesque beauty like a place of fantasy.

"En? This mist seems to have a type of tranquil and relaxing effect, which is rather useful for even a regular human's body!"

Leylin made his deduction after catching a single whiff of it. He even understood the formula to replicate the mist. "It's a pity that it doesn't have much of an effect on an official Magus."

Leylin continued to observe the layout of the Horizon Pavilion.

Green plants took up a huge portion of the room, but the layout was extremely neat and tidy, giving off a feeling of being one with nature.

In the Twilight Zone, green plants were extremely valuable resources, as the light from sun stones was used to grow various fungi and oats. As for vegetables and fruits, they were extremely rare items only for the nobility, much less plants that were only used for aesthetic viewing purposes.

Celine rested on a chair made of vines, seemingly unaware of Leylin's arrival. Her long, slender legs were revealed, and with that beauty of hers that could cause wars between kingdoms, it was no small temptation, even for an official Magus.

"Ahem." Leylin lightly coughed.

Following which, the woman lying down was roused in shock, and she proceeded to greet Leylin with a smile, "You're here, Magus Leylin!"

Each and every movement of hers had elegance in it, and coupled with her voice that was as sweet as a skylark's, it could leave one intoxicated.

"Hello, Magus Celine!" Leylin gave a perfunctory greeting, the expression on his face neither warm nor cold.

The spiritual force of an official Magus was enough to engulf the space within the room, and when Leylin entered, he did not conceal the aura on his body. It would be strange if this woman did not realise his arrival at all!

However, even if it was done on purpose, Celine's behaviour could not invoke any hatred. It was as if a little girl was playing a prank, which was not annoying.

However, after witnessing this scene, Leylin was even more sure of the meditation technique she cultivated in.

A superior illusory technique was not only cast on opponents, but also on the user. It would often leave opposing Magi finding it unbearable to inflict pain on them.

It was extremely obvious that Celine's meditation technique had reached such a level.

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Celine

"There is only one effect from such a meditation technique, and that is to increase affinity with others!"

"Natural affinity! Affinity to all things! At its peak, it will even affect intelligent creatures and their unconscious state of mind. Furthermore, it will also attract the illusion elemental energy particles…"

Leylin quickly deduced Celine's meditation technique.

"Terrifying! At its later stages, this meditation technique will even affect official Magi, where the energy particles will enter the Magus' body and influence their spirit's natural inclinations…"

Of course, Celine's attainment in this meditation technique had not reached such a level yet. Furthermore, Leylin had only conjectured the level higher than her current state, which may not even be true.

Evidently, her lustrous appearance could still not enchant Leylin.

Hence, Leylin had not completely disregarded Celine's beauty and found another chair made of vines, which was facing her, to sit on. "I'm sure that Miss Celine is extremely clear about my intentions on being here…"

The attitude that Leylin showed caused Celine to furrow her brows. However, very soon she smiled meaningfully as she stood up and stretched her back.

"Since Mister Leylin had already mentioned it, then I won't beat around the bush any longer!" Celine smiled wryly. "The icy cave is not controlled by my guild, Nature's Alliance. As for the Icy Jade Scorpion, it's venom poses a problem even for Magi… Furthermore, the elite Icy Jade Scorpion has the might of a semi-converted elemental Magus. Legends have it that a peak rank 1 Magus could not even beat their king…"

"Under so many unfavourable circumstances, we have to pay a huge price for every Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath that we obtain. What's more troublesome is that this species cannot be tamed, and they will attack any other living thing… To be frank, that material that I put for sale was the very last piece I owned…"

Celine continuously poured forth her grievances, seemingly pitiful like a weak and helpless damsel. One would often forget her identity as an official Magus.

However, Leylin would not fall into such a trap. Furthermore, even if she really had met with such troubles, Leylin had no intentions of helping her.

"My apologies but my reason for coming here this time is to amass large amounts of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath. Also, if you were to meet with difficulties, we could change our negotiations. Bring me the permit to enter the icy cave and a detailed map. In exchange, I'm willing to fork out large amounts of magic crystals, precious resources, and even top-grade research materials.

Leylin spoke in a rich and overbearing manner.

Of course, to enter the icy cave, he could deal with other organisations or simply choose to infiltrate his way in.

However, having an honest identity was always a good thing. Furthermore, Leylin had already inquired about the other factions who were safeguarding the icy cave. They were either a type of intelligent species or those extremely obstinate, conservative humans. As to whether Leylin could obtain anything from them, it remained a mystery.

No matter what, if Leylin did not want to cause a huge stir, the best way was to get in through Nature's Alliance.

Of course, if he was left with no other choices, Leylin did not mind going into seclusion for a good while before he regained the might of a rank 2 Warlock and force his way in and even monopolise the area for himself.

"Entry permit? Even a map?" Celine bowed her head as she pondered, but she very soon declined, "My apologies! Mister Leylin, you aren't from Nature's Alliance, so if I were to let you in, the other factions would not be too pleased about it…"

"However, if you were a member of Nature's Alliance, then there wouldn't be any problems anymore!" Celine grinned.

Leylin laughed loudly, "Just for a mere entry permit and you want me to join as a member, aren't you a little too naive?"

"It definitely will not stop at that level. If you, Mister Leylin, are willing to join, Celine is willing to give you the honorary title of a professor, with 500,000 magic crystals as a salary each year. Furthermore, the precious resources and experiment lab will be opened to you! Mister! Won't you give Celine a hand?"

Celine sounded extremely sincere as she spoke in an endearing manner which could enchant people. Ripples seemed to emanate from her big, shiny eyes.

"En?" Leylin was shocked for a while before he smiled and met Celine's eyes with his.

Under the detection of the A.I. Chip, an extremely indiscernible spiritual force was revealed to him. Moreover, the direction that it headed towards was Leylin's brain and his sea of consciousness.

"She actually dared to cast an illusion on me?" Leylin did not know whether to laugh or cry. This woman was acting somewhat recklessly. Not to mention the automatic counterattack from his bloodline, as a rank 2 Warlock, his massive spiritual force was enough to cause Celine a backlash which could turn her into an idiot!

However, he still had uses for her, so naturally, he would not be this vicious.

From Leylin's eyes, a large crimson coloured light surged forward and crumbled the incoming spiritual force into pieces.

After realising this had happened, Celine's face turned pale. Leylin, who had adopted a low profile, had always been suppressing his spiritual force and energy waves that he radiated. On the surface, he was just another ordinary rank 1 Magus.

For this very reason, Celine was willing to cast an illusion on him.

However, from the looks of it, this Magus by the name of Leylin was concealing most of his strength, which had caused her to be on the losing end.

In many cases, magic could turn around and backfire on the person who had cast the spell and cause him or her damage.

Celine struggled, wanting to shift her eyes away.

However, her neck seemed to be stuck in a certain position, unable to move even an inch.

Shocked, Celine could only gaze pitifully at Leylin, hoping to gain his understanding.

After playing around with her for a while, Leylin gave a faint smile and curbed the crimson rays coming from his eyes. Meanwhile, Celine trembled violently, two red lines flowed from her beautiful nose and created a flaw on her attractive face.

"A peak rank 1 Magus! You're a peak rank 1 Magus!" Celine did not even bother sorting out her appearance and exclaimed.

Through this spiritual force encounter, Celine could tell that he had a spiritual force that was as deep and profound as an ocean. The icy and terrifying aura it had caused her much fear.

She was extremely confident in her abilities in casting illusions. Based on records on meditation techniques, only someone who had the strength of at least a rank 1 peak Magus would be able to forcefully break her illusions.

At this point, Magi like them had basically completely converted their elemental essence, and their whole body had undergone a slight change. Ordinary illusions were basically useless.

And Leylin right here was a peak rank 1 Magus!

"My apologies! Celine did have the slightest clue that Mister Leylin had already been promoted to the peak of rank 1. Please forgive me for that sudden probing just now. Thank you so much for letting me off."

Celine looked grim, got up, and bowed towards Leylin with an expression of reverence.

In this situation where guilds were usually managed by official Magi, a peak rank 1 Magus was enough to destroy several small guilds. Celine was extremely familiar with the destructive power of a peak rank 1 Magus.

Magi at this level were enough to be the trump cards of medium-scaled guilds. Why would they appear here?

While Celine was bowing, she secretly raised her head and took the measure of this young man who was preposterously good looking. All sorts of thoughts emerged in her mind.

"It's nothing much! How is it going regarding the trade?" Leylin shook his head slightly.

Just showing a bit of strength was enough for this little vixen to see the disparity between them. When the difference in power was like that between heaven and earth, any scheming would be useless!

"The trade isn't very urgent. Please wait for a while longer!"

Celine's attitude had now undergone an 180-degree change. She bowed slightly, and then flitted away into the darkness like a butterfly.

She did not make him wait long, appearing in front of him again within a few minutes.

However, she now wore a purplish-gold gown and had dressed herself up, and did not look as pitiful as she had been. She was also holding onto a round disk.

"This is the collection at our office. There aren't many produced every year, and we only use it to entertain important guests!"

Celine smiled daintily, placing the item on the round dish on the table.

It was a seed that was in the shape of an olive. There were also patterns that were similar to that on walnuts and was probably the seed of some plant.

Celine's pale jade-like hands brushed at the seed!

Weng!* Along with a circle of green rays, the entire seed began to tremble.

Pak!* A white feeler burst out of the seed, extended itself, and then increased in number.

After the feelers were brown branches, followed by green leaves and pink flowers.

Under the green rays, this seed rapidly went through its entire brief life, and when all the flower petals fell away, a red fruit that was like an apple appeared on a branch.

"This is a special local product of ours, the Sicily Fruit! As it stays ripe for just a short period of time, it needs to be eaten right after being picked to be able to enjoy its pure, unadulterated taste."

Celine explained to Leylin while giving a gentle smile.

"The miracles in life are truly splendid and numerous!" Leylin praised. Such a miracle was only possible by using magic.

He picked the fruit off the plant, and the plant, which had lost its fruit, quickly wilted, and in seconds, turned into a puddle of grey liquid.

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A Pact

Munch!*

Leylin took a bite of the fruit that had been created by using magic to accelerate its growth.

As for any poisons, after having awakened the toxic innate talent of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, he was basically immune to most poisons in the world. Perhaps only the terrifying toxins that originated from ancient times might be able to affect him.

As the fruit entered his mouth, a fragrant and sweet juice flowed between his teeth.

"It tastes pretty good, and it also seems to be beneficial towards one's spiritual force! It is still rather effective for official Magi who are gathering spiritual force."

Leylin gave a slightly surprised glance towards Celine.

"The Sicily fruit is only effective for official Magi who are eating it for the first time. If a Magus' rank is too high, or if it is eaten multiple times, it is probably only useful for satisfying one's taste buds and stomach." Celine could only force a wry smile, pointing out the flaws in the fruit.

"Even so, it is still remarkable!" Leylin shook his head. The effects of this fruit were akin to those of a potion for spiritual force. If this was on the south coast, countless official Magi would be looting this everywhere. Here, however, any small power was able to bring it out, and Leylin once again learned more about the abundance of resources in the subterranean world.

After displaying his strength, Leylin was extremely calm and composed, enjoying the top-grade delicacies, wine, and other great things that Celine brought out, while occasionally speaking to her.

After that, Celine took the initiative and brought up the trade that Leylin had been talking about.

"Is my lord really not going to even consider Celine's suggestion?" Celine stared at Leylin with puppy-dog eyes.

"I don't have any plans to join any powers and be tied down." Leylin rejected her straight out.

"Please don't worry about that at all. Nature's Alliance is very small and I, Celine, am the only official Magus. My lord, you wouldn't have to do much!" Celine guaranteed.

"Also, the moment you enter, we will release to you all of Nature's Alliance's high-grade meditation techniques and information regarding the secret spells that have been passed down.

After all, it was very rare for a peak rank 1 Magus to be seen traveling alone in the Twilight Zone. One could go so far as to say that they could be seen once in a hundred years.

If one wanted to walk far on the path of Magi, it was essential that they possess large amounts of resources and knowledge, and these were things that only large powers possessed.

Hence, those wandering Magi were usually not that powerful. Anyone who was a semi-converted Magus was considered rather powerful, and as for being a peak rank 1 Magus, that was virtually impossible.

Even if there were one or two who were extremely lucky, they would immediately be roped in by large Magi organisations, and would definitely not continue to wander.

Now, however, Celine knew there was a tremendous opportunity in front of her!

The moment she recruited Leylin, Nature's Alliance would automatically become a medium-ranked guild that would not lose out to top powers!

Hence, whilst knowing that she did not have much hope in this endeavour, Celine still wanted to give it a try! Though she had previously used her own beauty to seduce a few Magi, most of them were nothing special, and all they wanted was to gain possession of her. It was extremely disgusting, but she had to endure the disgust that rose within her and continue to have dealings with them for her guild to continue to exist.

If her guild had a peak rank 1 Magus taking charge, things would definitely be different!

"My apologies but…" Leylin spoke, causing Celine's expression to pale.

"But it's not as if there isn't a roundabout way of doing this." However, Leylin's next words caused Celine's eyes to shine.

"I can go through the motions of entering the Nature's Alliance guild to obtain the entry permit to enter the icy cave. Also, I want everything that you promised me, and in return, I can even personally help you to expand the guild to some extent! After this, you and your Nature's Alliance are not allowed to reject any of my requests. Remember, I mean any at all!"

Leylin altered the conditions a little, leaving Celine to sink deeply into thought.

"Fine!" After muttering to herself for some time, this clever woman quickly nodded and accepted Leylin's terms.

There were few chances to recruit a peak rank 1 Magus. In addition, though Leylin would only enter the guild in name, as long as she did her utmost if Nature's Alliance were to get into trouble, wouldn't he help out?"

"I can.. Even…" Celine raised her head and looked at Leylin's handsome features, flushed red, and then ducked her head.

However, considering her experience, she knew to reign in her emotions.

"I'll pass you the high-grade meditation techniques and information regarding spells as soon as possible. May I know when you are planning to enter the icy cave? I can arrange…"

Celine's head automatically lowered.

Such an attitude surprised Leylin. "Don't I have to sign some contract? I recall that when most guilds recruit new blood, some even get them to leave behind a portion of their soul."

"I trust Lord Leylin!" Celine resolutely stated, which left Leylin somewhat stupefied.

Of course, he would not leave any traces of his spirit to be bound by a contract. However, he was prepared to use the Trial's Eye to reassure her. After all, he still had many items that could be used to concoct the solution of the Nefarious Filthbird's feathers.

However, it seemed like Celine was slyer than he thought, and was also willing to take risks!

Perhaps, in the future, Nature's Alliance would be able to shine through her leadership and walk the path to glory!

Leylin looked at Celine, who seemed like a maidservant now, as he smiled in a toying manner…

……

A few days later, on a tall, fertile land, in front of a mighty construction.

Celine wore purple robes, seemingly with a bewitching intent. This caused the two acolytes behind her to gulp down their saliva.

Between the two acolytes, one of them was female. She herself was intoxicated by Celine's beauty, and her gaze held a trace of adoration.

"Lord Celine, are we really waiting for a peak rank 1 Magus here?"

As for the other male acolyte, he was somewhat in disbelief. It was a peak rank 1 Magus after all! Such strength was enough to be granted the position of an elder in large guilds. Why would such a Magus lower his status and enter a small guild?

Or perhaps, maybe it was for Lord Celine! The male acolyte racked his brains to derive a plausible explanation while tightly clenching his fist.

As for the female acolyte, she gritted her teeth.

As for what she thought, that peak rank 1 Magus must have used some methods to cause Lord Celine to succumb to him, and intentionally joined the guild to use it to his advantage for a long time.

"Obo, Ilya, although this Lord Leylin has a relatively good-natured disposition, you cannot be disrespectful. You are the hope of my Nature's Alliance. If you have the chance to be favoured by Lord Leylin and become his disciple, the chances of advancing to a rank 1 Magus in the future will be extremely high…"

As for Celine, she did not consider the complicated feelings of her acolytes and even tried to instruct them at this moment.

The reason for her bringing the two acolytes who had the highest chances of advancing into an official Magus with her was twofold. First, she wanted everyone in the guild to know that she had recruited a peak rank 1 Magus, and on the other hand, she had hoped for Leylin to take them as his disciples, to further strengthen the ties they had.

"Jejeje! Isn't that the guild leader of Nature's Alliance? Who might be this important for the ravishing beauty Miss Celine to personally welcome him?"

At this moment, a group of Magi walked out as the large gates of the construction creaked open.

The one walking at the forefront was middle-aged, with a half-naked torso and eight long legs that propped up his body. At his buttocks was a sack of silk.

It seemed to be a half-man half-spider creature. Moreover, a genital tube hung from his lower abdomen in the open. Looking at it, Obo felt it repulsive, and as for Ilya, she lowered her head.

However, they could not express their disgust, as this creature had the might of a semi-converted rank 1 Magus, which made it stronger than Celine.

Through the sensing of the spiritual force, they could see that the halo of energy particles surrounding the creature's body was mightier than that of their guild leader.

"It's been a really long time, Magus Skrill!" Celine smiled jubilantly and went forward to greet the creature.

The Magus Skrill looked at Obo and Ilya in disdain, before looking at Celine. "Miss Celine, why do you have to safeguard the Nature's Alliance? There are so few acolytes, and much less potential. This will only end with you squandering your youth and your precious life span. Why don't you join us at the Eight-Claw Spider Guild? I can give you a position which is just beneath mine…"

Skrill licked his lips as he lustfully looked at Celine.

"My apologies, Sir Skrill, I…" Celine smiled with some difficulty, and as Skrill edged closer, she caught of whiff of his repulsive odour, which left her rather pale.

On the other side, Obo and Ilya's eyes had already turned red; if not for Skrill being an official Magus with a might that surpassed Celine, they would have already dashed forward.

Skrill was a leader of one of the small-scale guilds that had banded together with Nature's Alliance to guard the icy cave.

Very long ago, when Nature's Alliance was at its peak, Skrill's guild was still a pathetic, tail-wagging, pity-votes-garnering, tagalong of a guild.

However, after Celine took over the leadership position, Nature's Alliance's power started to wane. Only then did Skrill begin to mercilessly reap the benefits that originally belonged to Nature's Alliance, and even express his interests in Celine.

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Crystal Mask

Celine herself had only just advanced to become an official Magus.

Compared to Skrill, she was obviously lacking. In addition, all the Magi that were on good terms with Nature's Alliance were not willing to offend a semi-converted Magus just for this small matter, as with their responsibilities in their respective guilds, they had to consider many more things than most other Magi.

Even if Celine were to win over a few Magi by using her body, those she could win over would at most be regular official Magi that would be much weaker than Skrill.

This was what had allowed Skrill to be so unreserved with his actions.

The smile on Celine's face gradually became more forced as Skrill made things more difficult for her along every step of the way. At the same time, she also sent warnings to Obo and Ilya, telling them not to do anything that might provoke Skrill.

Obo and Ilya felt as if their hearts had been slashed, as they were only able to clench their fists at this scene.

Celine continued, "The reason I'm here is to welcome a famed professor into my guild. He wishes to enter the icy caves."

"Famed professor?" Skrill's brows furrowed.

"Is it Wagrin or Noah? With just their measly amount of strength, they'll just be a burden…"

Skrill sneered.

"No! The professor we've invited is a travelling Magus from the eastern capital. In fact, I myself was rather surprised that he actually agreed to enter Nature's Alliance."

A grin surfaced on Celine's face. "Anyways, he's already here!"

"Hehe… how powerful can a travelling Magus be? Celine, I hope you didn't get cheated!" Skrill's disdainful expression was still on his face. "Hm, he's here? Where is he?"

"Here!"

Leylin's cold voice sounded from behind Skrill.

Skrill's body stiffened. How powerful was this official Magus to be able to escape his detection and sneak behind his back without any trouble?

If not for the greeting, it would have been an easy task for Leylin to kill him with just a spell.

He turned around rigidly to the sight of a young Magus in black standing behind him with a gentle smile on his lips.

However, the aura he was giving off was terrifyingly strong!

The moment he appeared, dense dark elemental particles permeated the area, repelling the elemental particles revolving around Skrill.

"The aura of an elemental essence conversion… A p- peak rank 1 Magus!" Skrill had even begun to stutter.

Oh, great Gaia! A peak rank 1 Magus was basically a tyrant in the Twilight Zone. Why would one choose to enter a small guild such as Nature's Alliance to be a professor?

Skrill could not make sense of this situation.

"Looks like you aren't very respectful to the guild master of our Nature's Alliance, huh?" Leylin stared at this Magus with interest.

"Surgical transplants? Or meditation techniques that can alter the body shape? I really want to explore further with that research…"

Though his words were indirect, Leylin's gaze was enough to cause Skrill to shiver in trepidation.

"My lord, you're such a joker! We of the Eight-Claw Spider Guild and Nature's Alliance have always been friendly with each other, so why would I be trying to make things difficult for guild master Celine? Haha… haha…"

Skrill bowed towards Leylin, lowering his head and smiling apologetically.

"Is that so?" Leylin shot Celine a glance.

"Yes, Lord Leylin!" Celine glared coldly at Skrill until an imploring look appeared in his eyes, and then spoke.

"In that case, go back first. I still have some matters that I wish to discuss with Celine!" Leylin instructed.

"Of course, of course. Many thanks, my lord!" Skrill immediately ran back to the fort as if he had been granted an official pardon, not daring to overstep his boundaries.

"Celine! It looks like your Nature's Alliance isn't doing that well."

Leylin looked at Celine, and then slightly eyed the two level 3 acolytes, both of whom were gradually flushing red.

"My apologies!" Celine gave a wry smile.

"Ever since my mentor passed away, we of Nature's Alliance have not seen anyone advance to an official Magus in a long time. All that's left is me working alone, which has caused our situation to go downhill. However, with my lord joining us, I'm sure the situation will improve."

A peak rank 1 Magus was the trump card of middle-scaled guilds. With Leylin, Nature's Alliance would obviously be able to develop more.

"Whatever. However, I hope you remember our arrangement. If not, I won't actually help you if you cause some trouble that's difficult to deal with."

Leylin reminded Celine. What he had agreed on was that in exchange for her high-grade meditation techniques, accumulation of information regarding Magi as well as easy access to the icy cave, he would be a professor in name.

In fact, Leylin would only be joining the Nature's Alliance in name. Though he had other plans, he did not wish for Celine to use his name to create trouble outside.

"Don't worry!" Celine guaranteed. She was an intelligent woman and knew not to touch Leylin's bottom line.

"Obo and Ilya, quick, greet my lord!" She called out to the people behind her.

Upon hearing her words, Obo and Ilya bowed, looking dazed.

"We give our greetings to our lord!"

Their heads were low, and they did not dare to look at Leylin. However, from their voices, their admiration was apparent.

A peak rank 1 Magus! Obo and Ilya had never imagined that such a Magus would appear in Nature's Alliance.

Now, with a top-notch Magus like Leylin in charge, Nature's Alliance seemed like it would once again emerge as a top power.

Obo and Ilya were immeasurably emotional. Ever since they were young, they had been taken in by Nature's Alliance and naturally had developed very deep feelings for the guild, hoping that it would become more powerful.

Even their resentment from Celine almost being snatched away had lowered considerably.

"Alright! Celine, where are the things I wanted?"

Leylin gestured with his hands, getting the level 3 acolytes to leave, and then spoke to Celine.

Seeing that Obo and Ilya were not enough to catch Leylin's eye, Celine could only sigh in her heart. She then produced a light gold-coloured leaf and a sheet of dark yellow parchment paper.

"This is a map! In the other hand, recorded on this gold leaf is the only high-grade meditation technique that we have: the original Crystal Mask. I hope you can take care of it!"

Celine's expression was very sincere

This attitude was rather surprising to Leylin.

He immediately took the map and took a look. Within were numerous potholes and markings; it was obvious that Nature's Alliance had been exploring the icy caves for a long time.

Even so, they had not explored the deepest level of the cave, which went to show the immense size of the cave. This was the reason why Leylin had wanted the map.

Otherwise, wouldn't it mean that he would need to blindly explore the icy caves for months or even years before he could gather enough of the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath?

"Also, this Crystal Mask?"

Leylin naturally knew the significance of Celine passing down the original high-grade meditation technique to him. To some extent, this was a symbol of Nature's Alliance. Celine's actions were like she was handing over much of her authority to Leylin.

In addition, handing out the original meditation technique allowed Leylin to see that she did not do anything suspicious to the technique.

……

Celine was unafraid as she met Leylin's gaze, her eyes filled with a fervent hope and… pleading?

Leylin pursed his lips and extended his hand to take the gold leaf, and a trace of silver spiritual force entered it.

[Discovery of spiritual force, permission to allow transmission of information?] The A.I. Chip prompted.

"Permission granted!" Under Leylin's orders, large amounts of data entered his brain, which also answered the question of why Celine had been so generous as to pass him the original.

"There are only two levels to the Crystal Mask?"

Leylin found it hard to believe as he looked at Celine. "Shouldn't all high-grade meditation techniques have at least four levels?"

In ancient times, high-grade meditation techniques were not just any simple techniques. They represented a route that could allow one to enter the ranks of the Morning Star Magi!

In other words, high-grade meditation techniques had at least four levels of information, allowing Magi to train until they became Morning Star Magi!

"The second half of the technique is lost, my lord!" Celine looked bitter.

"To be honest, most of the high-grade meditation techniques in the Twilight Zone are incomplete. There is no way to advance further."

After listening to Celine's narration, Leylin suddenly thought of Siegfried's meditation technique, Gaia's Might.

The high-grade technique of the Earth Fire Association seemed to only have three levels, allowing Magi to train until rank 3. There was no another way for them to advance.

"Even in ancient times, high-grade meditation techniques were not staple goods, and there were a few wars in Twilight Zone. Though the inheritances were successfully passed down, we now lack a lot of the information regarding sub-topics and other information."

Celine explained to Leylin.

"In addition, even though we have two levels of the Crystal Mask, none of the Magi in Nature's Alliance have successfully trained in both levels. The contents of the second level need to be supplemented with Mirage Crystals from the Fog World, but unfortunately, these materials have been gone from the Twilight Zone for over ten thousand years."

Seemingly afraid that Leylin would think of this meditation technique as having little value, Celine quickly handed out something else.

"These are the spell models that Nature's Alliance has been accumulating until now, within which are our research materials on four rank 2 magic spells."

She produced a crystal ball and passed it to Leylin. "In addition, we can increase our offerings to you to a million magic crystals per year!"

"Rank 2 spells?" Leylin was inwardly exhilarated, but his expression remained stolid. "Don't worry. I've made my promise to you, and I definitely won't go back on my words."

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Icy Cave

As far as Leylin was concerned, he had collected high-level meditation techniques to supplement the A.I. Chip's information bank and to further understand the contents of the Kemoyin's Pupil and Sacred Flame.

With the A.I. Chip's formidable computation abilities, even if the data was somewhat incomplete, it did not matter. Difficulties regarding advancement were not the issue here, and in any case, Leylin himself would not be practicing all these techniques.

"Good! I am already aware of your sincerity!"

Under Celine's somewhat stunned gaze, Leylin threw a light-gold leaf, the surface of which acted like a memory crystal, back to Celine and indifferently told her, "I now want to enter the icy cave by myself…"

"My lord! The icy cave's terrain is complex, so even though you have a map, would you allow Obo or Ilya, or even Celine herself to guide you personally?"

Anxiety was present all over Celine's face, as this was an opportunity for her relationship with Leylin to become better, and she did not want to miss it.

"No need for that!"

Leylin immediately rejected her suggestion.

In addition to the fact that Leylin had many secrets that were inconvenient for him to reveal in front of others, bringing along people would bring no benefits. According to the A.I. Chip's analysis, the higher the rank of the Icy Jade Scorpion was, the better the quality of the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath would be, and therefore, Leylin desired to penetrate deep into the depths of the Icy Jade Scorpions' lair in hopes of finding a higher ranked beast.

For the commonly found, dangerous adult beasts, which were equal to an official Magus in terms of strength, two level 3 acolytes would simply be like food delivered on a platter.

Even if Celine were to go, it would bring more demerits than benefits.

"In that case, I request that my lord informs me when he comes out. Celine has not brought my lord to have a look at the guild."

Celine bit her lip, and finally issued her invitation.

"I will!" Seeing her wanting to speak more but hesitating, Leylin smiled inwardly, and immediately complied.

Then, following behind Celine, Leylin arrived at the entrance to the icy cave.

"Here the Nature's Alliance, Eight Clawed Spiders, the Teal Vine, other guilds and factions guard this place together. They have jointly formed a council of Elders to oversee this place. In the past, our Nature's Alliance naturally held a vast influence within this council of Elders, but it is very unfortunate that ever since my teacher passed away, Nature's Alliance's power has been reduced, and now, we have been pushed aside to the lowest authority."

While Celine brought Leylin inside a huge building, she occasionally enlightened him as to the current situation of the Nature's Alliance.

Along the way, Leylin could often see many Magi and acolytes, all wearing different kinds of Chinese gowns with different symbols on them, pass by him on their way in and out.

"This place is known as the Ice Fortress. The 6 guilds jointly vested some funds and built the fortress, and the guilds' members defend it. Also, many other guilds have set up their own special laboratories here, and they analyze the various materials obtained from the icy caves…. Although our current authority is not much, escorting my lord inside is not a problem."

Celine spoke as she led Leylin to the base of the fortress.

Within the man-made fortress, Leylin saw a huge white crevice.

A cold wind blew out constantly from the crevice, causing the temperature inside the cavern to drop by several degrees, to the point that even the white wind was condensed into cold ice and white snow which formed a thick layer that covered the entire crevice.

"The icy cave is filled with this type of ice wind all year long. Incidentally, the cold air and sharp ice ridges inside the cave are thorny nuisances even for our official Magi. After many years of exploration, we discovered that this crevice here is the least harmful, and is a most suitable entrance. Other places are either a dead end or it requires a long period to withstand the chilling cold air. Even a rank 2 Magi cannot necessarily withstand it…."

"En!" Leylin nodded.

There were also other giant surface cracks outside the icy cave, but by seeing how all the magicians paid no attention to them, he knew that these entrances simply were deathtraps, and that here lay the safest path.

"Isn't this Magus Celine? Do you want to enter the icy cave to explore?"

At this time, the Magus guarding the entrance greeted Celine with a smile, a warm expression in his eyes.

When Leylin saw that this Magus had a floor-length white beard, he somewhat speechlessly sneered inwardly.

"No! I am only escorting our guild's honorary instructor to the entrance," Celine replied with a smile.

"Honorary instructor? Him?!"

The old man was startled first, but then immediately began sizing up Leylin, this newly arrived Magus.

Although with Celine's ability, she couldn't attract an extremely formidable Magus, some comparatively shallow official Magi had willingly become members of Nature's Alliance guild to get close to this beauty but were ultimately rejected by her.

Based on the facts that she had revealed, Celine had tried to find at least a semi-converted elemental Magus to join the guild. It was obvious that among her admirers, only Skrill had met these requirements, but Celine would not agree to that.

"Hello, Young Magus! I am known as Old Madre!" The elderly Magus was carefully measuring Leylin up, but he nevertheless spoke very politely.

"I am called Leylin. Nice to meet you." Leylin smiled but remained very reserved.

Because of him frequently being in the habit of compressing his spiritual force, Leylin's aura and fluctuation of energy waves were concealed, and thus, Old Madre was unable to discover Leylin's true strength.

However, even this alone was enough to catch Old Madre's attention and cause dread, as the unknown was often feared and considered dangerous by all, particularly the Magi.

"Since he is the honorary instructor of your guild, he can certainly go in!"

After confirming Leylin's capabilities, Old Madre reverted to his business-like appearance.

Immediately, he pulled out something that looked like a metal ball, from within which a red light radiated, and submerged into the entrance.

Po*! Within the void, there were faint trembles; these invisible distortions blasted out unceasingly, revealing a red coloured network of rays that covered the entire entrance. This network was clearly a previously-arranged defense mechanism, but it was unknown how it concealed things so that there was not even a leak of any magic waves.

"Such an arrangement…" Leylin hesitated and inwardly muttered. "If I did not know what it was beforehand, perhaps my identity would have also been discovered by it!"

"It is dangerous within the icy caves. A cold wind that is comparable to a level zero magic attack blows everywhere, and there are also many high-energy organisms that gather in some places. Hence, I request that you please not go in too deep!"

Old Madre exhorted a couple of sentences, and then immediately gestured an invitation to Leylin.

"My lord! The cold air attack of Icy Jade Scorpion is of an extreme Yin nature! I am begging you to be careful!" This was the last sentence Celine said to Leylin.

This scene caused old Madre, who was standing to one side, to be somewhat envious, but he did not say anything.

But he was different compared to Skrill. Old Madre only had warm feelings of admiration for Celine; his attitude did not change to one of terrifying possessiveness.

Therefore, when saw that Celine's intention was to cherish Leylin, he had only chosen to observe this scene.

"I will be careful!"

Leylin smiled in agreement, and after that, he signalled to Old Madre with a nod and then submerged himself within that cold wind and snow.

……

Whooo! Whooo!*

The cold wind howled in Leylin's ears as it violently blew about while he hurriedly slid down.

Finally, along with a light sound, Leylin steadily stood in a snowy area.

"How is it so deep? Aren't I already at least 3 kilometers underground?" Leylin surveyed his surroundings.

With the howling icy wind, there was much noise, like 10,000 musical instruments are being played at the same time.

The illumination contrasted greatly in here against the Fortress, as it was pitch black within the underground icy cave.

"Illuminate!" Leylin lifted his right hand, and a ball of light that was like a bright, incandescent light bulb calmly appeared on his palm.

"Let's go!" As Leylin lightly shouted, the light ball rapidly rose in mid air and rotated.

The ball of light immediately illuminated this place.

Leylin took a quick look all around him. He was currently within a semicircular, underground icy cavern, the surroundings of which had countless densely packed holes in the walls. It was as if he was within an anthill.

All around on the walls was a thick, translucent layer of ice. The light from his illumination technique fell upon this ice layer and was immediately refracted into multi-colored light that made for a magnificent feast for the eyes!

Flap*

Sounds of wings beating against the air resounded massively, as if tens of thousands of sparrows were trying to free themselves from a bag, waking Leylin who was standing awestruck while observing his surroundings.

Immediately, massive black dots welled up from within the underground cavern.

Upon taking a closer look, these black dots all had a pair of transparent, fleshy wings, forked tails that were similar to what swallows had, and tiny eyes and sharp ears that brought about an eerie feeling.

"Sun Chasing Bats! There are at least 10,000 of them!" Leylin quickly estimated the number of these bats.

"Chiiik…Chiik" The numerous bats cried out, and as if black clouds were blotting out the sun, they revolved around that light ball and projected a shadow upon the ground.

"Chiik!" After the colony of bats had surrounded the light ball, as if they had obtained a command they suddenly started to mindlessly attack that light ball. Their wings continuously smacked that ball of light, and like that, they wrapped up the entire light ball causing not even a sliver of light to be seen.

The entire cavern was once again plunged into darkness.

A moment later, the fluttering of wings once again echoed and the numerous Sun Chasing Bats scattered, but there were no traces of the light ball.

"Oh" Leylin sighed: "Igniting light in a region shrouded in darkness is clearly dangerous…"

In the subterranean world, the Twilight Zone's human race made up only a small portion of the living organisms, and most darkness creatures had already been thoroughly exterminated, and because many of them were weak, they had no option but to hide upon seeing light.

However, in some desolate places outside of Twilight Zone, such light rays would instead stimulate the terrifying characteristics of these creatures of darkness leading to a relentless barrage of attacks!

The creatures of darkness outside of Twilight Zone and the ones that Leylin had just encountered were entirely different matters.

The tide formed by the massive amounts of foreign creatures of darkness were also something that even official Magi generally avoided.

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An Approaching Conspiracy

If the route that Leylin had taken had been filled with hordes of darkness creatures on the way to the eastern capital, the journey would not have been so quiet.

Even if Leylin were to survive, Baelin, Jenny, and James definitely would have died in the mouths of these dark elemental beasts.

It was obvious that within the icy caves, in the places that these beasts convened, they hated light; they would attack with all they had the moment that they detected any.

"Even I would need to spend a lot of time and magic to deal with all of those bats every day. It's not worth it."

Leylin sighed.

While the groups of bats were running amok, he had used a concealment spell. Hence, he had naturally not been pursued or attacked by the bats.

After doing some experiments, Leylin made up his mind.

"Night Vision!" He used this spell on himself.

This was an essential spell for many Magi in the subterranean world. With this spell, they could see things in the dark as if it were day without giving off any light that would attract aggressive beasts.

"A.I. Chip, display the map in your records!"

After he casted the spell, Leylin gave an order to the A.I. Chip.

Immediately after, a 3D image appeared in front of his eyes.

This was the simulated model the A.I. Chip had formed after analysing the map Celine had given him.

Nearby Leylin, there were red dots that constantly moved nearby Leylin, indicating the activity of high-energy beings. Compared to the previous inflexible map, this was even more detailed and reliable.

In a cave like this that was as complicated as a maze, Leylin had a definite advantage with his A.I. Chip. At the very least, with the A.I. Chip recording down everything, he would not get lost.

The icy cave could easily cause people to get lost. Every year, there were acolytes or even Magi in the guild who got completely lost in the cave. According to other Magi, if they had been enticed to enter deeper areas, they would have likely died in the mouths of the dark elemental beasts.

"Show me the best route to where the Icy Jade Scorpions are the most active!"

Leylin ordered once again.

Then, on the surface of the 3D map, a red line extended from the marker for Leylin's current location. It led to the deeper levels of the icy cave, even marking a few important areas.

"Let's go!"

Leylin looked around him and then disappeared into the crevasse.

Within the fort, in a concealed room.

Skrill saw the scene of Celine sending Leylin into the icy caves through a crystal ball, a grim expression on his face.

"Did that bitch Celine think that I wouldn't dare do anything to her if she found a peak rank 1 Magus to depend on?"

Skrill's facial muscles began to contort as he stared at the shapely body in the image, his expression especially insatiable and passionate.

"You're mine, and I will get you and make you my most beautiful treasure!"

Skrill moaned in an abnormal way.

"How is it? Have you made your decision?" Meanwhile, in a corner of the world, black mist rose and constantly changed shape, eventually turning into a human figure with vague features.

"There's a large issue with your plan. Celine has already recruited a peak rank 1 Magus into her Nature's Alliance. Our original plan will not work."

In front of others, Skrill concealed his previous expression and seemed cold.

"Peak rank 1?!" A startled gasp was heard from the mist. "Is your information accurate? Why would a peak rank 1 Magus be willing to join a small guild?"

"How would I know?" Skrill's face darkened. Being scared away by Leylin like that was the ultimate humiliation for him.

"He could easily repel the elemental particles around me, and his elemental conversion was at a very high level. Even if he's not a peak rank 1 Magus, he can't be too far from that… I wonder if that whore, Celine, tempted him…"

At the mention of Celine, Skrill's mood worsened again, leaving him feeling frustrated and unresigned, as if a delicacy meant for him had been robbed by someone else.

"Jeje, a peak rank 1 Magus is a little troublesome, but you should also believe in the guild backing us. A peak rank 1 Magus is definitely not enough to hinder our plan!"

The person shrouded in the mist was very confident.

"What do you plan to do? A peak rank 1 Magus isn't so easily dealt with. Besides, two peak rank fighting would definitely lead to a huge commotion. Aren't you afraid of being exposed?" A curious look appeared on Skrill's face.

"Jeje! It's not as if we don't have a peak rank 1 Magus in our organisation. Did you forget about that good opportunity we have? He will definitely accept!"

"Do you mean…" Skrill's eyes brightened.

……

"Hah…"

Leylin breathed out white mist.

The moment water vapour reached the outside air, it immediately condensed into tiny crystals that fell to the ground and produced slight sounds.

"A.I. Chip, what's the current temperature?" Leylin casually asked.

[The temperature is now -75 degrees Celsius!" The A.I. Chip immediately answered.

This temperature was more than deadly for regular humans, but in Leylin's eyes, this was a mere chill.

As he advanced deeper, he reached the very borders where Celine's map indicated.

It was at this place that he entered the territory where the Icy Jade Scorpions were active.

"The Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!" Fire burned in Leylin's eyes. This material was extremely effective in suppressing the issues he had from his bloodline, and so he definitely needed to get his hands on it!

As the overall data and gene composition was different between Magi, this was as good as hitting the jackpot for Leylin. If he missed this opportunity, he really had no clue where he would find this material again.

[Discovered being that matches Host's description. Distance: 621 metres.] The A.I. Chip prompted, causing Leylin to perk up.

He followed in the direction the A.I. Chip indicated, and not long after, he saw the actual body of the being.

At the end of the tunnels of the icy caves, there was a huge cave, on the surface of which were mosses and little bushes, forming a rather infertile area where food was produced.

Here, two groups of beings were having an intense confrontation.

On one end was a large, transparent, green scorpion that looked as if its entire body was made of green ice.

The two large pincers in front constantly danced back and forth, and its venomous sting curved behind it, moving erratically and looking ready to strike.

Blue, chilly air was produced occasionally, from the mouth of this Icy Jade Scorpion, and spat towards its opponent.

With just a look, Leylin knew that this large Icy Jade Scorpion was what he was looking for.

Facing the Icy Jade Scorpion was a group of blue ants.

These ants were the size of a mature adult's finger. Their two large and sharp saw teeth kept opening and closing, producing terrifying, ear-piercing sounds.

It was a pity that in the face of the hard shell of the Icy Jade Scorpion, their attacks were futile.

Even if they crawled all over the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion, they could not affect its movements. On the contrary, every time the Icy Jade Scorpion raised its large pincers, numerous ants were sent flying.

The chilly air puffed out by the Icy Jade Scorpion also froze many of the ants into little crystals, which it then swallowed.

This was a battle where the Icy Jade Scorpion was foraging for food. It was the absolute winner here.

"A.I. Chip, scan the data of the Icy Jade Scorpion in front of me!"

Leylin immediately ordered. After advancing to become a rank 2 Warlock, the A.I. Chip that was spiritually bonded to him had also gained many benefits. Besides a power up in its simulation abilities, beings like this that had force-field related innate skills could have their data taken down as long as they were below rank 2.

Of course, for beings above rank 2, the A.I. Chip would be discovered and counterattack.

[Icy Jade Scorpion's Strength: 15.9, Agility: 10.3, Vitality: 25, Spiritual force: 45, Special attacks: 1. Icy Breath: An attack where the Icy Jade Scorpion spits out large amounts of extreme icy air. Power: 30-45 degrees. 2. Freeze: When heavily injured, the Icy Jade Scorpion can seal itself in ice and lower its bodily needs to the minimum until its body completely heals. 3. Icy Armour: The icy layer on the surface of the Icy Jade Scorpion's body can effectively defend against physical and magical attacks, and also has a slight rebound effect on light magic.]

The A.I. Chip quickly sent out a row of data, and displayed a projection of that Icy Jade Scorpion in front of him.

"Even amongst rank 1 Magi, this is quite powerful!"

Leylin judged.

A Magus's strength could generally be decided based on their spiritual force. Acolytes were definitely below 20, while rank 1 Magi, which were otherwise known as official Magi, had a spiritual force between 20 and 80. As for rank 2 Magi, it was above 80. Based on Leylin's conjectures and the simulations from the A.I. Chip, the spiritual force of peak rank 2 Magi could reach 200!

The strength of most rank 1 Magi's spells was between 20 and 80 degrees.

Not only were its various stats were extremely high, the strength of its breath could even reach past a degree of 30. With its innate defensive spell-like icy armour, even a regular rank 1 Magus was not its opponent.

"This strength is almost that of a semi-converted Magus. I wonder what the elites or even emperors of the Icy Jade Scorpions are like?"

At this point, the battle had also reached an end.

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Experiment and Seizure

Leylin shifted his attention to the battlefield.

The Icy Jade Scorpion had now completely won, and after a single hiss, most of the blue ants fled in all directions.

The Icy Jade Scorpion did not chase after the defeated army of ants. Instead, it crawled to the top of a mound and used its large pincers to dig at the mound, revealing a nest with numerous holes that made it look like a honeycomb.

In it were large numbers of orderly lined up white eggs.

Chi chi!* The Icy Jade Scorpion gave a cry of exultation and began to pig out.

"My apologies, but I'll need to disturb you for a while!"

However, its feeding time was interrupted by another being. The tiny red eyes of the Icy Jade Scorpion fixed were fixed on the human figure in front of him, its two large pincers constantly flying in the air and its poisonous stinger flexing behind its back.

Chi chi!* The Icy Jade Scorpion was instantly enraged by Leylin, who had disturbed its meal. Large amounts of icy mist was produced from its mouth and aimed at Leylin.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

The temperature in the cave lowered, and everywhere this icy mist passed by, exposed rocks shattered into countless fragments.

"Extreme cold! The unique breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion is said to possess an ability from the Icy World."

Leylin muttered to himself while covered in the blue icy mist.

Immediately after, the large amounts of blue gas vied to enter through Leylin's skin.

[Beep! Detected absorption of large amounts of icy energy. Extremely effective towards suppressing bloodline issue of emotional instability. Saved!]

The A.I. Chip intoned.

"It's not enough! This level of iciness is not enough!"

Slightly disappointed, Leylin shook his head. He then extended his right arm, at which large amounts of icy mist converged, forming a small spiral in the air.

This sight caused the opposing Icy Jade Scorpion to pause its actions.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

The blue icy mist shrunk in Leylin's hand, and its light blue lustre disappeared, revealing a pure hue.

Minutes later, the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath had completely disappeared from Leylin's hand. Left over in his palm was a thin piece of ice that looked the same as what Celine had traded to him, though this shard was much smaller.

"The crystal shard of the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath!" Leylin lanced at the white icy shard in his hand and suddenly sighed. A silver ray of light flashed, and the icy shard suddenly disappeared from Leylin's hand.

"This Icy Jade Scorpion is still too weak, and its breath can only help in suppressing my emotions by a small amount. If I really want to cure myself, I'll need to do tests on an even more powerful Icy Jade Scorpion."

Leylin looked at the Icy Jade Scorpion in front of him. As it spat out large amounts of chilly air, the surface of this large scorpion looked transparent, and it was looking at Leylin from afar, seemingly about to escape.

"It still has a certain level of intelligence!" Seeing its behavior, Leylin was even more interested.

"I need to obtain a complete experimental body, record its data, and gather some materials!"

Leylin looked at this large scorpion that looked to be formed entirely out of green ice and broke out into a smile…

Several hours later, in a large icy cave that had just been opened.

The entrance to the cave had been sealed by Leylin. He had also used some concealment methods to prevent ordinary beings from discovering this place.

On a large ice platform in the middle of the cave were tens of black iron pillars standing tall to form a cage. The Icy Jade Scorpion from before was kept inside, occasionally letting out low growls.

Leylin off to a side, holding a petri dish that held a green shell within. This shell was from the exoskeleton of the Icy Jade Skeleton.

Drip drop!*

A droplet of red liquid was dripped onto the surface of the icy shell, causing the shard to begin to boil and produce large amounts of steam. The shell constantly melted until all that was left was a black fragment.

Leylin was delighted upon seeing this. A glimmer of excitement appeared in his eyes, and he used a pair of tweezers transfer this fragment to a test tube.

"I've pretty much gathered all of the samples and data. All that's left is to gather data on the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath."

Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion in the cage and suddenly clapped.

Pak pak!* Large amounts of sparks flashed at the top of the black iron cage, and blue streaks of electricity whizzed on the pillars, reaching the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion.

Chi chi!* Enraged, the Icy Jade Scorpion growled and spat out large amounts of chilly air.

This chilly air formed a thick layer of frost on the metal cage, but most of it automatically drifted to Leylin, forming another one of the white crystallised ice shards from before.

"Effects of electrostimulation: Excellent! Next is to try flames…"

Leylin snapped his fingers and black flames ascended, as vibrant red tongues of flames extended and engulfed the Icy Jade Scorpion…

After extensive experimentation, Leylin finally gathered the information he needed regarding the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath.

"Matured scorpions can spit out this extreme chilly air attack 5 or 6 times a day. Each time, the amount can form a shard that is a tenth of the size of what Celine gave me."

Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion in the cage.

The scorpion currently had its pincers trailing on the ground, looking lifeless. The green on its body had almost disappeared, turning it into almost a translucent crystal scorpion.

Due to its characteristics, Leylin wondered once again if he should confine a few Icy Jade Scorpions, but quickly discarded the idea.

Based on the information he had gathered from Celine and Siegfried; these Icy Jade Scorpions could only survive in the icy caves. The moment they left, they would immediately die. Should they survive, their later generations would slowly turn degenerate.

The Icy Jade Scorpions could only maintain their unique properties while living in the icy caves.

In addition, though these beings had some intelligence, they were very obstinate, or rather, fascinating! This was because Leylin had found a control mechanism inside its sea of consciousness!

Protect this place. Protect the queen! Such determination seemed to be passed down with its bloodline, constantly existing in its mind. If Leylin wished to expel this brand, he would need to destroy its sea of consciousness. However, the Icy Jade Scorpion have long since died, which would render this whole effort meaningless.

"They are so tightly bound as a group!" Such a strange control over them made it difficult for Leylin to understand.

In wolf packs, there were instances of the alpha males being chased out after losing in a battle for power. However, the Icy Jade Scorpion made Leylin think more of queen bees or queen ants. Only in these sorts of simple organisms would there be a situation of ultimate power and control.

"It looks like there's a need to go to the nest of the Icy Jade Scorpions!"

Leylin muttered to himself while looking at the Icy Jade Scorpion trapped in the cage.

Though he could occasionally come over and gather the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion to suppress the issue with his bloodline, he could not truly cure it.

What he wished for was something that could completely eliminate all of the negative emotions from his body!

It wasn't really a matter of convenience, but rather, it was the fact that it was a weak point that others could target at any time. Leylin wasn't going to be so stupid as to let it be.

It was evident that just the Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath could not achieve this. Leylin could only place his attention on the elites that were a rank higher than this Icy Jade Scorpion, or even their emperor…

With this thought, Leylin immediately got to work.

Using the information, he had gathered from the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion, he produced a few materials from his spatial pouch and created some powder that was specifically useful against Icy Jade Scorpions.

This powder would produce a unique smell after being burnt, which was an indescribable temptation to Icy Jade Scorpions.

With this powder, Leylin walked around the region where Icy Jade Scorpions were active and caught over ten regular Icy Jade Scorpions, and even an elite as well.

Elite Icy Jade Scorpions were bigger than the regular Icy Jade Scorpions by a factor of almost 1.5 times. Their jade-like bodies were also covered with mysterious patterns.

These patterns covering the back of these elite Icy Jade Scorpions were curses, but they were incomplete, causing Leylin to be puzzled.

All Leylin could do was get the A.I. Chip to record these images so that he could do research on them in the future.

These elite Icy Jade Scorpions were almost as powerful as semi-converted Magi. With the added bonus of being in the icy caves, their strength was even further amplified.

However, in front of Leylin, who had now regained enough of his power to be equivalent to a peak rank 1 Magus, it was like snow that had been exposed in front of the sun, allowing him to obtain many good research materials.

The quality of the elite Icy Jade Scorpion's Breath was far above that of regular ones. It was enough to suppress the negative emotions caused by his bloodline for ten years, which filled Leylin with more hope of being able to completely rid himself of it!

Leylin was now hidden behind an icy plain, watching a group of Icy Jade Scorpions that were migrating.

There were tens of Icy Jade Scorpions gathered here, and with Leylin's interference, about half of them had left the area. Moreover, these were all matured bodies!

The entire group went berserk for a period of time, but even after sweeping through the area, they still could not find any traces of Leylin.

The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could not do anything but choose to migrate to another location.

However, this was exactly what Leylin had planned on.

Previously, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor had hidden in a nest that was heavily guarded by numerous elite Icy Jade Scorpion guards. The moment there was any situation, Leylin would immediately be met with the attacks from the entire family.

The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was akin to the existence of a peak rank 1 Magus. Along with the tens of Icy Jade Scorpions, all of which had the strength of official Magi, peak rank 1 human Magi would almost certainly die. Even if it was Leylin, it would be difficult if he could not use his full power as a rank 2 Warlock.

However, the situation had changed!

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Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor

Due to Leylin's use of guerilla tactics, the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions had lost many of its members.

In addition to this, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor had been separated from the safety of its den; it chose to make its move.

This movement was the opportune moment for Leylin to act!

With just a thought, Leylin caused a fierce, black hurricane to suddenly appear to sweep across the icefield.

As the violent black hurricane swept forth, the layer of ice that had remained frozen for ten million years immediately cracked open, and turned into white powder that scattered in the wind.

The hurricane slightly took on the shape of a tornado, collided with the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions that were in the process of moving away.

"Jji! Jji!*

The cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions suddenly emitted intense howls.

As they made this noise, all the Icy Jade Scorpions immediately gathered together, puffs of frosty air came out from their mouths as they constructed a very thick layer of ice that formed a wall in front of them.

As if unsatisfied with the firmness of the ice wall, these Icy Jade Scorpion did not stop exhaling; instead, they continued until the ice wall's thickness had exceeded two meters before they gradually stopped.

Ka-chak! Ka-chak!*

The black hurricane threw itself at the ice wall, and an ear-splitting noise similar to scraping one's fingernails on glass echoed. Little flakes of ice were constantly being shaved off the wall.

The Icy Jade Scorpions at the back immediately increased their rate of puffing to patch up the gaps in the wall caused by the hurricane.

The remaining Icy Jade Scorpions united, and their combined power was equivalent to ten official Magi working together. Even a peak level 1 Magus would have to withdraw if facing an attack of this degree!

But Leylin was no ordinary peak rank 1 Magus! Although the total quantity of his current spiritual force was only that of a peak rank 1 Magus, but his spiritual force had already undergone the rank 2 Warlock advancement, and as such had the ability to solidify.

"Hmmph!"

At this moment, a cold snort was heard from within the black hurricane.

Immediately, a massive amount of silver spiritual force dispersed and covered the surface of the black hurricane. Silver cracks appeared on the hurricane's surface.

From afar, there seemed to be a layer of silver on top of the black wind blades.

Bang! Bang!*

Under the attack of the wind blades, the giant ice wall could no longer hold on, and deep fissures appeared in the wall. These fissures increased in size until the wall crumbled completely.

Ka-cha!*

Bang!* The giant ice wall fell to the ground with a loud noise, and the black hurricane then engulfed the entire cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions.

Ji! Ji!* Numerous Icy Jade Scorpions roared, the jade radiance on their bodies glimmered as they resisted the attacks of the wind blades.

Although the attacks of these wind blades were very strong, most of these Icy Jade Scorpions were fully-grown adults. With their icy armour and their defences from the chilly air about them, they remained in a deadlock for quite a while.

The black hurricane came quickly but disappeared just as fast.

In several seconds, the hurricane had swept through the place where the cyclone of scorpions was and vanished into the horizons of the icefield, faintly emitting incisive sounds.

However, after hearing these sounds, all the Icy Jade Scorpions became frantic as if they had gone mad, and pursued the hurricane.

It was a pity that speed was their weakness, and they could only look on helplessly as the hurricane swept further and further away, until it finally faded into the horizon.

Leylin urged the hurricane on, and the green shadow wrapped within sped forth until it was confirmed that the Icy Jade Scorpions could no longer overtake it. Only then did the hurricane disperse, revealing the identity of the green shadow.

After seeing the black hurricane dispersing, the figure of a green Icy Jade Scorpion was revealed. This Icy Jade Scorpion's build was slender, and it appeared to be very gentle and exquisite. Compared to ordinary Icy Jade Scorpions, it was rather on the small side.

However, it was different from other Icy Jade Scorpion partially because of its imposing mannerisms. In addition to these, on the back of this Icy Jade Scorpion was a complete pattern, which had been seen earlier on the body of an elite Icy Jade Scorpion, though it had been incomplete. This pattern had the form of a distorted female's face.

This Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor assumed an offensive stance and lifted both its arms, facing Leylin.

"You do not need to struggle anymore. You should know of the disparity between our strengths!"

Silver spiritual force flashed in Leylin's eyes while he grinned.

Relying on his present strength, he would need to squander a large amount of spiritual force and magic power to face off against the cyclone of Icy Jade Scorpions that had already lost most of its soldiers. After all, the opposing party could be regarded as a group of Magi working together, with a peak rank 1 Magus commanding them! As he had yet to recover his strength as a rank 2 Magus, even Leylin felt dread.

But now, he only needed to take care of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.

Jji! Jji!*

Reacting to Leylin's words, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor calmly issued a sound that increased by several pitches that made it even more piercing.

A big, green, misty brilliance was emitted from its shell, forming a thick ice armor that covered its body.

After putting on this ice armor, the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor increased in size; it had gone far beyond that of an elite Icy Jade Scorpion and was almost the size of three ordinary Icy Jade Scorpions added together.

Whoosh!* The Icy Jade Scorpion emperor simply left an afterimage where he had stood as he turned into a dark green ray that wanted to attack Leylin.

"Sigh. In the end, this problem can only be resolved with brute force!"

Leylin quickly drew back, and the moment he retreated, the ground suddenly exploded, crushed stones flying everywhere to reveal a big hole.

Pu!*

The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor withdrew its pincers, and puffed out a big blob of blue icy breath without hesitation and aimed it at Leylin.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*

The sounds of solidification constantly sounded, and there was even a transparent twisting seen in the air.

"Such chilliness! It even caused the air to freeze!"

Seeing such a powerful chilliness, Leylin could not help but be excited. Only this type of crystallised breath could completely eradicate the emotional instability that had resulted from his Warlock bloodline

"A.I. Chip! Scan the opponent's data!"

Leylin's eyes flashed blue.

[Beep! Task established, beginning scanning. Beep! Target is covered by an unknown force field, unable to be scanned.] The A.I. Chip quickly intoned.

"Oh!" Large amounts of black air were emitted from Leylin's body, forming a shield adorned with various patterns. It smashed into the chilly air.

He could disregard the breaths of regular Icy Jade Scorpions, but the attack of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was not something he could withstand with just his body. If he did that, he suspected that this fierce chilly air would freeze his body to death!

The shield formed of black air slammed into the blue icy mist, and darkness formed at the centre. It was like a black hole, swallowing the shield and chilly air and even the air itself.

"Unknown force field? Where is it?" Leylin asked. With the amplified power of the A.I. Chip, only rank 2 creatures could shield themselves from the scanning. This Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was clearly at peak rank 1.

[At its back, where the distorted human face is.]

The A.I. Chip responded quickly, and after hearing this expected answer, the gears in Leylin's mind began to turn rapidly.

A few exceptionally formidable creatures from other worlds had almost godlike strength. They had formed unique runes of their own that symbolised their path, achievements, strength and many other attributes.

This rune often had a mysterious strength that could be used as a link to them and could be passed on to descendants, and could even traverse dimensions.

This phenomenon was more distinct in bloodline creatures. Leylin even suspected that the perfect rune formed from his innate spells, as well as the rune of the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could be classified as such.

Ji ji!*

Seeing Leylin blocking its attack, a trace of human-like mockery appeared in the gaze of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. It suddenly lifted its back.

Weng Weng!*

The female face on its back seemed to come to life, rays of green light circulated and produced an ear-piercing wail.

Ji ji!*

Invisible sound waves streaked past Leylin's body, and he was in a slight daze.

Xiu!* The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor immediately seized this rare opportunity and rushed to Leylin's front as its large claw snipped at Leylin's waist.

Meanwhile, Leylin looked absent-minded and was actually stuck in a daze, allowing the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor to attack as it liked.

Ka-cha!* Sharp giant claws immediately chopped Leylin's body into two, and large amounts of blood, water, and internal organs gushed out. The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's gaze exhibited its elation.

Shua! Shua! Shua!*

However, this joy did not persist for a long time. The blood that flowed from Leylin's body seemed to have a life of its own as it twisted, forming a crimson cage that closed in on the Icy Jade Emperor.

Leylin, who was now in two halves on the ground, began to transform, finally revealing his true appearance. He was formed of countless shadows, and was actually an illusionary virtual body!

There was a flash a distance away, and Leylin appeared.

He looked at the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Emperor, fear still lingering in his mind.

"What a terrifying illusory spell, to actually be able to affect me, even though my spiritual force is already solidified! If not for having met that banshee in the secret plane of the Spirit Slaying Sect and done research on the spiritual attacks like wails, it would have been dangerous!"

The attack of the human face on the back of the Icy Jade Emperor was even more powerful and strange than that of the banshee. Leylin had almost fallen into its trap.

Ji! Ji!*

Countless blood tendrils climbed up the cage, engulfing the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. It constantly howled and waved its large claws around, constantly puffing out.

"I need to finish this fast!" Leylin flung out numerous potion bottles.

These bottles exploded in the cage, forming an immense fiery mist that kept the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor inside.

This was what Leylin had brewed through numerous experiments, a potion that was especially made while taking into consideration the properties of the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion. Though he did not have a sample from the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, Leylin had increased the dosage. Based on the simulation experiments from the A.I. Chip, this potion was enough to affect a peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion and cause it to become rigid.

As expected, as more mist entered the body of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, with crimson tentacles constantly twining around it, its howls became weaker until they disappeared.

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Ancient War

Within the icy caves, in a hidden room.

This was the temporary laboratory that Leylin had created in the basement. It was like a large-scale basement, with Icy Jade Scorpions trapped in various holes. However, they all looked lifeless, as if most of their energy had been sapped.

At the centre of the laboratory, Leylin was excitedly facing a small mountain of ice.

At the end of the war, the emperor of the Icy Jade Scorpions found that it was impossible for it to escape, and it could only resort to its ultimate innate skill—Freezing!

This was an ability unique to Icy Jade Scorpions, where a layer of solid ice was formed around the body until their injuries recovered.

The fact that it had used this move showed it had no other alternative.

The block of ice in front of Leylin was huge and could be even said to be an ice mountain. Large amounts of mist emanated from the mountain, lowering the surrounding temperature.

The layer of ice was no ordinary one. Its hardness could even be compared to steel.

The Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion's protective layer of ice was naturally even more terrifying than that of regular Icy Jade Scorpions. However, this was merely a small issue for Leylin.

Besides, though this move could protect the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion, it was also a prison! Hence, after completing his research, Leylin had used this layer of ice to imprison it.

Leylin was now holding a thin, long needle, and jabbed it into the ice mountain!

This needle had been custom made. It was a shiny silver colour and almost a metre long. The moment it contacted the surface of the ice mountain, it produced a sound similar to that produced when molten iron meets water.

Next, a red dot appeared on the surface of the ice mountain. The silver needle had pierced through the layer like it was going through cotton, and directly reached the shell of the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion.

It was currently like an insect frozen in amber, unable to move and even unable to blink.

Zi!* The needle shook a little and then pierced into the body of the Emperor Icy Jade Scorpion, extracting some green blood.

After seeing this blood, Leylin's expression showed his excitement.

……

Half a day later, Leylin stared at the green blood essence in the petri dish, looking hesitant.

The Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor was now similar to a peak rank 1 Magus in terms of its strength, and that obviously meant he could not refine the pure ancient bloodline from it.

Even so, Leylin had found a lot of information from its bloodline.

Some ancient creatures could use a special method and transmit information and images to their descendants through their bloodline. This information was hidden deep within their genes, and only the creature itself could awaken it.

But Warlocks were different! Their research and understanding of bloodlines was enough to undo the complicated genetic lock and allow this ancient information to see the light of day once more!

Leylin had found some ancient information in the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion.

"Though I don't know if it's good or bad, I'll just look at it!"

Now, after seeing the blood essence of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, even Leylin's own Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline trembled, giving him some confidence.

"Retrieving spirit memory!"

A sliver of silver spiritual force extended from Leylin's forehead, entering the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion.

……

Rumble!*

It seemed like he had gone through a long period of darkness before he saw light again.

Leylin woke up, but he now found himself immobile. However, his body kept crawling, as if he was an observer that was living in this body. He could observe, but had no control.

Surrounding him was a world of white snow with a layer of ice on the ground. Leylin saw his reflection on the layer of ice on the ground.

He had six jointed legs and a stinger, but his upper body was that of an adult male, though his two large hands had turned into pincers.

"What kind of ancient creature is this?" Leylin was stupefied.

There was little information passed down in the South Coast. There was no record of this being in the illustrated handbook of ancient creatures, and there were also many powerful creatures from other worlds that were not recorded. That was why Leylin did not know the true identity of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor ancestor.

However, the vast, bubbling strength it had made it obvious to Leylin that this creature was far above him in terms of might. It had even reached the level of a Morning Star Magus!

Pak!*

An ice mountain that was thousands of metres tall broke into pieces in front of the Scorpion Man, and it brandished its large pincers as it advanced indifferently. Occasionally, it would battle with beings that were as powerful as it was, and the stray ripples would break off large fragments of ice.

Until one day!

Ka-cha!* The Scorpion Man had just ripped up an ice dragon, and was gulping down its flesh and blood. As if sensing something, it raised its head and looked into the horizon.

Rumble!*

The heavens split and the earth shattered. In the sky far away, it looked as if someone was tearing out a large hole. A horizontal crack that spanned a hundred thousand metres emerged in the sky.

Snakes! A giant black snake with silver armour! There was even the Giant Kemoyin Serpent that Leylin was especially familiar with rushing through the spatial crack, entering this icy world.

The appearance of these giant ancient serpents marked the start of a massacre.

The Scorpion Man howled. He could feel that just the stray ripples from the spatial crack was enough to heavily injure or kill him! Furthermore, every one of those snakes did not lose out to him in terms of strength. However, affected by his own bloodline and the surroundings, he couldn't help but rush to the opening of the spatial crack.

Along with him were other beings of this word. Icy Dragons, Giant Chilly Eagles, Ice Spirits, and even some creatures that were natural enemies were somehow summoned, putting down their prejudices against each other and rushed to the battlefield.

The two forces slammed to each other, blood and flesh flying, the space contorting around them.

The Scorpion Man and a giant serpent battled. It was as if he had gone crazy, constantly attacking it.

This all came from a premonition deep inside him. If these snakes were to continue existing here, this place would be damaged or even destroyed.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Life and death battles went on, and it was common for Morning Star Magi to fall. There were also corpses falling from the sky, their auras enough to make Scorpion Man tremble in fear.

"Hsss!"

At this moment, a loud hissing from a snake caused the Scorpion Man to come back to himself.

All of the creatures on the battlefield looked at the spatial crack.

A ferocious ancient aura leaked out through the crack, and all the snakes respectfully lowered their heads. The Scorpion Man was forced to lie on the ground from the pressure.

The black crack suddenly extended, and a large ball of snakes that was the size of a planet seemed to want to pass through the crack and descend on this world.

The aura emitted from the snake ball made the Scorpion Man shudder from the very depths of his heart.

The other creatures of the Icy World were just like him.

Weng weng!* The entire Icy World trembled, layers of ice breaking to reveal a female giant who was several tens of thousands of metres tall.

This female giant had a very boorish face. She had copper armour, a pike and a green shield.

The female giant first roared at the snake ball, but received no answer. The large snake ball constantly forged forward, widening the spatial crack at its seams.

Upon seeing this, the female giant raised the pike in her hands and pierced towards the snake ball.

A devastative power appeared on the surface of the pike, red lightning flowing around the body of the pike. It was as if the the gods had cast out a pike that could destroy worlds!

"Hsss!"

The pike arched through space, appearing in front of the snake ball.

The snakes that had entrenched themselves separated, revealing the body of a beauty in the middle of the snake ball. Every single strand of her hair was made of tiny snakes, yet she did not look strange, but was instead very charming!

The woman smiled sweetly, surpassing the limits of race with her enchanting features. All creatures, and even space and the world found her pleasing to the eye, not wanting to see her take on this pike.

A few creatures of the icy world even betrayed their faction and began aiming for the female giant. However, before they even came close, they turned into powder by the lightning on the body of the female giant.

Pak!*

Two large palms formed of countless groups of snakes extended from the snake ball, grabbed hold of the pike and broke it!

The pike that seemed to hold the powder to destroy the world was split into two halves by these large hands.

However, they were not yet satisfied, ruthlessly grabbing at the female giant!

A black blade formed out of the spatial crack instantly appeared in front of her.

Bang!*

The female giant's head and body separated, and large amounts of green blood spurted out.

A violent explosion resounded through the battlefield, and countless dangerous spatial cracks were created.

A droplet of green blood that was almost as large as a human head fell on the back of the Scorpion Man. The intense pain and burn immediately caused him to let out a miserable cry.

He was then swallowed by a large spatial crack.

At the last moment before he was swallowed up, the Scorpion Man looked at the giant Mountain Wyvern made entirely from an ice mountain and descended onto the battlefield, breaking the spatial crack.

Within the snake ball, a woman's sigh was heard…

Darkness! A darkness that spread throughout the heavens and earth surged up and invaded Leylin's body.

"Hah!"

Leylin gasped in large breaths, cold sweat rolling down his face.

"That woman! The one inside the snake ball! I've seen her before!"

Leylin immediately thought of the dreamlike trance he had been when he had advanced to be a rank 1 Warlock. The woman inside there looked to be the exactly the same person as who he had seen from the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!

"Unless… That woman in the snake ball is the legendary Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes! And was the war that I just saw the battle where the ancient Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes invaded the Icy World…?"

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Information Of The Bloodline And A Conjecture

Leylin felt that he had correctly deduced the gist of the story.

In ancient times, after the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes had failed to take over the Shadow World, she brought her descendants with her and migrated to the Purgatory World. It was probably during this time that she had infiltrated the Icy World!

However, the inhabitants of the Icy World's naturally resisted this invasion.

According to Leylin, the Scorpion Man seemed to have received some powerful spiritual insight. Being able to interfere with the strength of a Morning Star creature through the spirit was either the work of the female giant, or the will of the world.!

The result was the death of the female giant, but with the great effort on the part of the Ice Mountain Wyvern, the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes' plans to invade the area were thwarted.

In the great battle, the female giant had been killed, and a droplet of her blood had landed on the back of Scorpion Man, which had wounded him greatly. Unable to avoid the spatial crack, he was swept in.

In the end, Scorpion Man had travelled to the Twilight Zone through this spatial pathway and had then died from his injuries.

Even so, he still had the strength of a Morning Star Magus, and the blood of the female giant, whose power was inconceivable. Hence, after his death, this entire region was affected by the radiation from ice, forming a topography and climate similar to that in the Icy World!

The Icy Jade Scorpions evidently had some connection with the Scorpion Man, but this connection had degenerated. Its human upper torso had completely disappeared, and there were no other obviously similar characteristics.

"It's because of this that Icy Jade Scorpions could survive! They were actually creatures from another world. They could only survive and reproduce because of the radiation of extreme cold here."

Leylin sighed and thought about the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes.

He reckoned that the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes should have attacked the Icy World after migrating from the Purgatory World, due to the fact that this world must have been extremely important to her and her race.

After the setback when trying to seize the Shadow World, she had no choice but to withdraw and bring her race to Purgatory World.

However, the fire attribute of the Purgatory World did not quite suit snakes, which were more compatible with the shadow element. After reproducing and beginning to adapt, their race even began to have some fire elemental attributes in their blood, but they were also mixed with the chaotic will of the Purgatory World in their bloodline.

This could be the origin of the emotional instability of warlocks with the bloodline of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent. After all, snakes were usually not so emotionally unstable as to lose control and rage.

Based on Leylin's deductions, the issue with ancient Warlocks with snake bloodlines should have been an apathetic nature, and they might have even needed to hibernate. However, with the chaotic will added in from their time in the Purgatory World, their emotions were also altered.

The original characteristic of coldness had become a fiery temper!

Hence, the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes had attacked the Icy World once more, probably hoping to use the chilliness there to treat the emotional instability issue with her bloodline!

Of course, her plan failed in the end, but the Icy World had also paid a large price.

For this reason, the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath from the Icy World was useful in treating the emotional instability that stemmed from Leylin's bloodline.

"Sigh… what a complicated relationship!" Leylin held his forehead, which was starting to hurt from how hard he was thinking.

"Though these are all but conjectures, my thoughts should be correct. It doesn't matter even if I'm wrong, since the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes, Ice Mountain Wyvern, and the Purgatory, Icy, and Shadow Worlds are too far away to even matter…"

Leylin smiled wryly, "I just need to know one thing, which is how the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor can heal my emotional instabilities. That will be enough!"

"A.I. Chip! Set up a plan to extract the Icy Jade Scorpion Breath and design my treatment process!"

Leylin immediately ordered.

[Mission establishing, beginning analysis! Setting up data model!] After receiving the command, the A.I. Chip quickly began to operate.

Meanwhile, Leylin, deep in thought, stroked his chin.

Honestly, after seeing that ancient war, it was impossible for him not to be stirred up. That droplet of blood that had dripped onto the back of Scorpion Man had stirred up Leylin's interest as well as his desire to conduct research on it!

That was a strength that far surpassed Morning Star Magi—it might even be equal to a great rank 5 Magus. It could even be from a bloodline that was at rank 6 or 7, which even ancient Magi would have would have found difficult to attain!

If Leylin gained it, how much stronger could he become?

Though Warlocks could not change their bloodlines, doing research on the blood of these existences was sure to be unbelievably useful for his future.

In addition, the Scorpion Man had had the strength of a Morning Star Magus while he was alive. There was no need to refine his blood. It was the purest bloodline possible from an ancient creature.

Leylin's breathing became rough just from wishing that he could enter deeper into the icy caves and look for the remains of the Scorpion Man.

However, he then smiled wryly.

Based on the remaining memories left in the bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor just now, Leylin knew that Nature's Alliance and the other small guilds only controlled a tiny area of the icy caves.

Deeper underground, there lived all sorts of icy creatures that were ten or even hundreds of times stronger than the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, all of which formed their own small Icy World.

The remains of the Scorpion Man were probably at the deepest level of this Icy World!

There, rank 2 icy creatures would be running rampant. It wouldn't even be surprising if rank 3 creatures emerged there.

Even if Leylin became a rank 3 Warlock, was not sure that he would be able to leave without a scratch. He would need to at least have the strength of a Morning Star Magus to completely break into this place to get the remains and bloodline.

"Strength! It all comes down to strength!" Leylin smiled wryly and gave up on any thoughts of exploring further in.

Though those were great items, Leylin was not going to risk his life for them!

Leylin had always been very prudent. If he was less than 70% confident, or if his life would be in danger, he would definitely choose not to take this risk.

Besides, in a situation where the icy caves had existed for such a long time and yet nobody had realised their true origins. Leylin was not afraid that other Magi would come here. There were also the icy creatures down there, which were a great defensive line.

He had already figured things out. Once he had enough power, he would come back here and obtain the presents from Icy World.

"Things need to be done one at a time. First, I need to deal with the problem of my emotional instability!"

Leylin's pupils returned to their calm state, his expression revealing his rationality.

……

Outside the icy caves in the Twilight Zone.

"Take note. The expedition into the icy caves is very dangerous this time. Though you are all the cream of the crop in our guild, as long as you haven't become an official Magus, you have virtually no way to protect yourself in there. Take care not to leave the sight of the team leader, understand?"

A valiant looking middle-aged man dressed in armour was currently preaching to a group of acolytes.

"Hey, Mully! Are you bringing acolytes down there again?" Old Madre, who was guarding the area, greeted him with a smile.

"Yes! The joint conference is beginning soon. It's best to raise the strength of these little monkeys under me. It can't be helped even if it's a little dangerous."

"How is it? Have there been any icy explosions or migrations of dangerous creatures within the caves?"

"Currently, I haven't received any reports that mention such a thing. Furthermore, there's currently a famed professor from Nature's Alliance in there. If there is a problem, you can ask him for help, especially since we're all allies!"

Old Madre laughed and then mentioned Leylin.

"Professor Leylin who came from the eastern capital? I heard that he's a master at the peak of rank 1!"

Though Mully said all this, he still looked unwilling to accept this. It looked like even if he really met Leylin, they wouldn't be able to get along.

After all, it was shocking that a peak rank 1 Magus had entered a small guild such as Nature's Alliance.

Like many other Magi, Mully thought that Celine was bragging.

"Celine really is quite pitiful. She's been going around looking for help nonstop. Nature's Alliance is in a very dangerous position."

Old Madre sighed, but a glimmer of delight flashed in his heart.

Whether it was Leylin or Mully being on the losing end in there, it was still going to be a delight to see.

"Hmph! Whose fault is it that you two are always harbouring evil intentions towards my Celine?"

Madre thought in his heart while revealing an enthusiastic grin. Compared to when Leylin had entered, he was much more passionate while explaining things of note to the acolytes.

From an outsider's perspective, Old Madre was still a very respectable senior.

Whoosh!*

At this moment, large amounts of chilly gusts of wind blew out form the crack in the ground, and the acolytes could not help but wrap themselves tightly in their clothes.

"This means someone is coming up… huh! They're fine!"

Old Madre was bewildered.

"What's going on?" Mully rushed over and asked.

"It's Magus Leylin! He's out! Magus Celine has already come here quite a few times to check if he's out yet. I need to inform her!"

Old Madre did not take him seriously, even complacently laughing after seeing Mully clenching his two fists.

Bang!*

A figure with a large, icy mountain on his shoulder rushed out from the crack.

"Are you Leylin, the new, famed professor that joined Nature's Alliance?" Mully sounded impolite.

"Yes! What's the matter?" He was beaming widely.

This person was naturally Leylin. In this period of time, after constantly extracting the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, he had already healed the emotional instability from his bloodline using the treatment designed by the A.I. Chip.

The extreme chill originating from Icy World, as well as support from the A.I. Chip had completely expelled the chaotic will in his bloodline that came from Purgatory World.

Though there might still be an issue deeper in his DNA, the A.I. Chip calculated that until he became a Morning Star Magus, the emotional instability of Warlocks would not be an issue. Leylin was therefore in a good mood.

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The Headquarters' Location

"I…I…"

Mully hesitated. Although he doubted the other party's strength, Magi were a rational bunch. If it wasn't for Celine, he would not even dare to provoke the other party.

Now, he was somewhat uncertain.

If Leylin really possessed such huge power and he decided to challenge him, wouldn't he be courting death?

Immediately, Mully opened his mouth wide, " This… this is…"

In this moment, Leylin had already thrown the ice mountain on the floor, producing a loud sound.

Within the ice mountain stood a thin bodied Icy Jade Scorpion that was unmoving, as if it were a statue.

"Celine! Get some people here and move these items!" Leylin contacted Celine through the secret imprint, and from the other end came a surprised squeal.

"Oh? Previously, Magus Leylin went down with the purpose to do research on the Icy Jade Scorpion. It looks like his gains were pretty good! Unexpectedly, he even caught a smaller one. It seems like it's a young one!"

Old Madre smiled and explained.

While in its frozen state, the Icy Jade Scorpion's breath was suppressed to its lowest and Old Madre did not see it.

"No, damn it! This isn't some young Icy Jade Scorpion! It's the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor! A peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!" Mully retreated while stammering.

"I have seen it before. This is absolutely the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor! Look at the terrifying markings on its back!"

Mully retreated to the edge of the site, afraid that the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor would go wild at any time.

"Raurghhh… Seriously!"

Madre picked up what seemed like a pair of glasses and placed it on his nose, taking a good look at the Icy Jade Scorpion. This was then followed by a squeal as she took a few steps back.

"Mag… Magus Leylin! Di- Did you catch this?"

Old Madre started to stammer as well.

"Of course!" Leylin smiled and nodded.

After having suppressed the emotional instability from his bloodline, Leylin massacred all of the regular Icy Jade Scorpions and collected their materials. As for the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, he could not bear to kill it.

After all, its value while still alive was much greater than the value of the materials on its body.

He still had many simulations that he needed to complete on the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, and Leylin was also extremely interested in the waning of the Icy Jade Scorpion's life once it were to leave the radiation from the icy cave.

Hence, he had to wrap the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor and bring it out.

Leylin could only gather all the materials from the regular Icy Jade Scorpions inside the spatial pouch, and since it could not hold living beings, he had to carry an ice mountain all the way out.

However, the look of disbelief on the faces of these two Magi that turned into one of respect was rather amusing to Leylin.

He did not intentionally try to conceal his powers, but there was the underlying intent of showing his might.

After all, the might of a peak rank 1 Magus was not unfounded, and an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor with a strength comparable to a peak rank 1 Magus was enough to intimidate everyone.

Although Celine had been actively disseminating the information of her guild, she had not acquired the acknowledgment from the other guilds as Leylin had been keeping a low profile. Most Magi had even thought of this as an elaborate scam and were here merely to look for trouble.

But now, these small guilds would think twice before coming forward.

Though he wasn't afraid of trouble, he hated having to personally involve himself in these small matters. It wasn't a bad idea to scare them away with this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.

Even between peak rank 1 Magi, their battle abilities were varied. Since Leylin was able to catch a Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor that was similar to a peak rank 1 Magus, didn't that mean that he was at the top of the peak rank 1 Magi?

Old Madre and Mully exchanged glances, and their gazes towards Leylin was filled with reverence.

"Lord Leylin, it's great that you could come back safely!"

At this point, Celine was excited as she brought back the two acolytes from before.

Leylin looked at them and nodded. It seemed like Celine had been waiting here with these two acolytes after he had left, which was rather considerate of her.

"An Icy Jade Scorpion is a creature with the might of an official Magus and they lived in clusters. Initially, I had my worries, but thankfully we were under the blessing of Gaia!"

Celine patted herself on her chest and was hesitant at the start, as she was worried for Leylin.

Hearing that, Old Madre and Mully surreptitiously rolled their eyes.

The one who should be worried should be the Icy Jade Scorpions. This Lord had already captured the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor and the remaining Icy Jade Scorpions had either disbanded or sought refuge with the other cyclones.

At this moment, Celine found the ice mountain beside Leylin, " Do we need to move this?"

"En! Send two people to follow me to shift it to the Eastern capital before we look for a lab to analyse it further." Leylin patted on the ice mountain behind him.

" If you wish to find a lab, the headquarters of the Nature's Alliance is just nearby for your Lordship's usage."

Celine's eyes sparkled and suggested, "Furthermore, I would like to discuss in detail with your Lordship regarding the previous matter."

"Your headquarters is nearby? Great, let's go!" Leylin nodded in agreement. There wasn't anything important in the basement he used in the eastern capital. All valuable equipment was carried on his person at all times.

As for the overall facilities, Nature's Alliance's lab was definitely better than his own established lab.

"Hop on and call another carriage to move this ice mountain back to the headquarters!"

Celine commanded. She went forward to take a good look at the Icy Jade Scorpion.

Through the translucent ice, a rune that closely resembled a face could be seen at the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion.

"This is… the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor!!!" Celine covered her mouth with her eyes wide opened.

……

Whoosh!

A huge waterfall which seemed to fall from the sky like a white curtain, created huge splashes in the underground pond. A constant rumbling sound of the water echoed in the surroundings.

After passing the waterfall, there was a small canyon.

Scattered around the canyon was a variety of plantations and some historical structures.

The landmarks and road signs were covered in vines, with constant rays of light shining from above.

This was where the Nature's Alliance headquarters resided.

Leylin looked around with curiosity at the whimsical constructions.

Although these buildings appeared slightly run-down, there were slight glints of magical glows which indicated the existence of a powerful spell that had been cast on the wooden walls.

Nature's Alliance, albeit being a small guild, had accumulated their high-level meditation techniques over multiple generations in the past hundreds and thousands of years, proving their might.

Periodically, a few Magi acolytes, dressed in grey gowns, would come out of the building to greet Celine.

"Oh Celine, it has been so long since you last visited!"

At the same time, a grey mole jumped out from a human-sized mushroom and lifted its claw, greeting Celine.

The grey mole was the size of a boy and had sparkling bright eyes brimming with liveliness. It had a spotlessly white moustache that dropped down from the bottom of its mouth to the floor.

"Nice to meet you, Grandpa Cedric!"

Celine expressed with respect, "I brought your favourite berries!"

Celine carefully placed the two strange fruits that looked like green dates on the ground.

"En! Not bad! That's my favourite!" The gigantic mole used its agile claws to pick up the fruits and threw them into its mouth, crunching noisily,

"This is my newly recruited famous professor, Leylin Farlier! He will be having the same level of authority as me!" Celine introduced, after the mole finished eating.

"Leylin what?" The mole took a good look at Leylin with beaming eyes. "En! Deep and immeasurable power! Looks like you have pinned all your hopes on him…:"

Leylin looked at the mole, " A guard animal? It has the strength of a rank 1 Magus. Not bad."

At this time, Celine introduced to Leylin, " Grandpa Cedric was Nature's Alliance's guardian during my great great grandmother's time. He is usually very gentle, just don't disturb his sleep…"

After introducing the two to each other, Celine brought Leylin to a hall.

There were tens of acolytes waiting in there. Seated at the front were Obo and Ilya whom Leylin previously met.

"To think that a Magus guild will end up with only a rank 1 Magus, an animal as a gatekeeper and a few apprentices. What a failure!"

Leylin became speechless as he followed Celine in.

Celine went forward and introduced Leylin to the acolytes, "This is Professor Leylin whom I've invited over! From now, all of you need to respect him like how you respect me. No, you all should treat him with even more respect, do you all hear me?"

"Professor Leylin!" The acolyte greeted with their beaming eyes.

Leylin's past achievements slowly spread around through Obo and Ilya. The apprentices felt extremely happy and elated knowing that they have a rank 1 Magus taking charge.

"Nice to meet all of you! A Magus is a follower of the truth. I hope to see all of you in the hall in the future!"

Leylin spoke a few words and indicated Celine to let the students leave.

All along, Leylin did not like such situations and furthermore, he was not interested in the group of acolytes.

The sole purpose of gathering the students was to introduce Leylin. The introduction ended within minutes, leaving Celine and Leylin in the hall after the students left.

"Can we talk now? Seems like something was wrong before I left the icy cave."

Leylin took a glance at Celine as he asked with a smile.

"I can't seem to hide anything from you!" Celine bit her lips and finally made up her mind.

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Joint Conference

"Do you know about the joint conference of the eastern guilds?"

Celine asked.

"Joint conference?" Leylin repeated. In the Twilight Zone, there was a parliamentary system, but it was simply a compromise between all the large and small organisations.

One would be able to understand just by taking these words literally. Besides, Aaron had also information about this in his memories.

"My apologies! I've been wandering in the borders of the regions and I don't know much about this. I've heard something, though. Isn't it a conference where multiple guilds segregate their rankings and profits?"

Leylin answered.

"Exactly!" Celine's wry smile became more prominent. "The joint alliance is a grand occasion for the Magi in the eastern capital. Every twenty years, all the guilds in the eastern capital will gather. Nine council members will, in their capacity as hosts, mediate all conflicts, conduct another election, and divide territories."

"Even the rating of guilds will be decided during this joint conference! As long as they are not large-scale guilds, all can apply, and after some inspections, territories will be redistributed, with more benefits… The guilds that do not meet the requirements to hold their ratings will be demoted, and the territories they hold and most of their rewards are transferred to other new guilds."

"So, what you wanted to ask me concerns this rating!" Leylin pondered while looking at Celine.

"Yes, my lord!" Celine bit her lips.

"Because of my mentor, Nature's Alliance's rating during the previous joint conference was that of a small-scale guild. My strength is inferior to my mentor's, so my ranking will cause us to fall till we aren't even rated. In this case, most of our benefits have to be given away, and since we can't enroll many acolytes, Nature's Alliance will eventually die out."

Through Celine's explanation, Leylin had a better understanding of the rating system.

Generally, there were four rankings. They were the unranked, small-scale, middle-scale and large-scale guilds!

From Leylin's perspective, as long as there was one official Magus in the guild, they would be unranked. Most guilds in Twilight Zone had this rating.

Above that was the small-scaled guilds like Nature's Alliance. They possessed specific areas where they made profits, such as the icy caves, and there were usually a few official Magi or even semi-converted Magi taking charge.

There were then the middle-scale guilds. Not considering other details, at the bare minimum, they needed to have a peak rank 1 Magus.

In large-scale guilds, they were the elite guilds with rank 2 Magi in charge. Since the establishment of the joint conference, there were only a handful of instances where guilds were rated to be large-scale. Every time this happened, there would be a huge revolution involving the deaths of countless Magi.

The evaluation was not necessary to be in tandem with a Magi's rank, as battle power differs even within a rank itself.

Hence, the ratings relied entirely on battle power! They would usually exchange hands with others of the same rank, and the shedding of blood on the battlefield was not uncommon.

Of course, there was another method. As long as one submitted research material that the nine council members approved of, one could also be rated according to the merits of the research. However, this was an extremely difficult process, and few had passed through the rating review using this method.

Celine's mentor was said to be astonishingly powerful. Though he had yet to become a semi-converted Magus, he had somehow drawn a tie with a semi-converted Magus and had thus been thought to have an equivalent level of strength. Nature's Alliance had thus been acknowledged to be a small-scale guild and received permits to estates and mines.

If their rating went down this year, all of these would naturally be revoked, and without these resources, Celine alone would not be able to continue managing the Nature's Alliance. Hence, she had no choice but to look for outside help.

However, a semi-converted Magus was already considered an elite within the ranks of rank 1 Magi. At most, they would have been groomed by other organisations.

Though Celine had attracted the attention of a few official Magi, some of whom were inferior to her, with the allure of her body, what use was it? The rest were like Skrill who had some ulterior motives, and Celine didn't dare to make use of them.

Leylin's appearance gave Celine a sliver of hope.

"As long as my lord agrees to lead us in the joint conference, everything in Nature's Alliance will belong to you, including myself!" Celine slowly took off her coat, revealing her delicate body.

Under the translucent light that shone on her pale, exquisite skin, she was even more alluring. Along with that expression of one preparing to die for her cause, it made one have the desire to ravage her.

"But why me? If these are the conditions, I believe there are many Magi, such as Skrill, who are willing."

Leylin was expressionless. Women were merely for him to cope with stress. Sex was not anything special after he performed it one too many times.

"If I'm going to sell myself, I'm obviously going to sell it to someone more powerful. Skrill had been a candidate, but he was already responsible for another guild, and his appearance is a little too strange."

Celine's answer was direct and very practical.

Pak! Pak! Pak!*

Leylin applauded. "Intelligent! Rational! Able to see the big picture! Fine. I'll go to the joint conference with you!"

"In that case, I'm yours now, my lord!"

A blush appeared on Celine's cheeks…

……

The next day, with Celine guiding, Leylin strolled around the headquarters of Nature's Alliance. He then went straight to the library and did not emerge from it.

As for indulging in pleasures of the flesh? Leylin merely satisfied his needs every once in awhile. He could resist it during such crucial times.

Celine naturally understood this. After seeing Leylin in a hurry to pounce and start flipping through the books, she tactfully retreated.

Leylin watched her back and nodded. He was quite satisfied with this woman—she was rational, smart, and rather pretty.

"A.I. Chip, record!" He ordered silently, his eyes flashing with blue light.

After all, Nature's Alliance was a Magus guild. There were thousands of books gathered in the library, including information about the culture, geography, and politics in the Twilight Zone, amongst other information. More importantly, there was an account of the Magus World.

These were all things that Leylin now lacked. As such, he did not restrain himself at all and ordered the A.I. Chip to record everything.

As time passed, the database in Leylin's A.I. Chip was enriched. He now had a very profound understanding of the Twilight Zone.

Leylin proceeded further in, and even browsed in a few of the secret libraries within Nature's Alliance.

Some of these areas were forbidden territories and acolytes were not allowed to enter. However, he was now a famed professor in Nature's Alliance. After agreeing to Celine's request, he basically had control of this area, and there was no issue at all.

The items in the secret rooms obviously held more precious things than what was displayed in the public areas.

Not only was there large amounts of research data, there was also information from Magi expeditions, regarding meditation techniques, reserves of high-grade content and even some conjectures by senior Magi.

To be honest, at Leylin's level, general research materials and information were not much to him.

What he really cared about were the hypotheses and speculations of the senior Magi.

Though a lot of them were proven wrong by the A.I. Chip's calculations, they could still provide some new ways of thinking for Leylin.

In addition, there were differences between the studies in the subterranean world and in the south coast. The essence of these differences was worthy enough for Leylin to use as a reference.

"Hm?"

At this moment, Leylin had unintentionally flipped to a page that held research material that he was interested in.

"The maintenance and mending of the sea of consciousness!"

This was a very old scroll. It was a volume formed of leaves strung together, with information recorded on it using images and words, and it had an aura of nature.

What was written down had left Leylin astonished.

His sea of consciousness had been injured while using the ancient teleportation spell formation, and even the edges had cracks.

The A.I. Chip could only give the suggestion of solidifying spiritual force and slowly mend it.

Hence, Leylin was now unable to use part of his spiritual force, and only had the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus.

Though this was effective, it was just too slow.

After two years of recuperation in the town, his injuries had recovered by just a small amount. Leylin was getting impatient and was seeking a way to accelerate this process.

"A.I. Chip, record this information and analyse the feasibility of this method for me."

The sea of consciousness was linked to the roots of Magi and Warlocks. Leylin did not dare act without caution.

[Beep! Information has been recorded, setting up a simulation model.] [Beep! Effectiveness on Host body: 12.92%.] The A.I. Chip quickly arrived at a conclusion.

"So low?" Leylin was in disbelief, and could only force a laugh. One's sea of consciousness differed from person to person, and it was only natural that the mending method had such an effect.

"But it's a good thing that it works. I'll gather more information on this topic and let the A.I. Chip design a treatment plan based on the state of my body. The rate of success will then increase!"

Leylin comforted himself.

The books in the secret rooms did not have information on just this topic.

A lot of the information here was useless or even harmful to acolytes but was extremely useful for Leylin.

He had even found a notebook with reflections concerning the use of rank 2 spells. It seemed to have been written by a great Magus.

Nature's Alliance was merely a small guild, and there had never been a rank 2 Magus here. He wondered where they had obtained this from.

But Leylin accepted this with a smile. This notebook could supplement the rank 2 spell models that he had received from Celine.

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Remodeling By Freezing

In the Nature's Alliance's laboratory.

Leylin stared at the large ice mountain, his expression revealing his regret.

Around the ice mountain were numerous crystals that were emitting blue light that constantly swept across the ice mountain. They formed a spell formation, and the blue light.

[Failure of simulating icy radiation. Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's life force is gradually weakening.]

The A.I. Chip intoned with no emotion.

Bang!* All of a sudden, the crystals emitting blue light exploded, and the rays from the spell formation dimmed.

"Is it still a failure?" Leylin sighed.

This was the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor that he had taken captive. Ever since he had brought it from the icy caves, it had been constantly weakening. This was even happening while it was in its frozen state, or else it would have long since died.

Leylin had no other ideas. After multiple failures while trying to simulate the special radiation from the icy world, he had already given up on this idea and was preparing to make use of this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor as much as he could.

"It's impossible to extract an ancient bloodline from it, and I've already recorded all the information I've obtained from its blood. So…"

Leylin shifted his gaze to the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor. The rune of a distorted woman's face seemed to be alive.

Through the memories in its bloodline, Leylin knew that this type of Icy Jade Scorpion originated from the Scorpion Man that had the might of a Morning Star Magus.

The moment Scorpion Man had been drawn into the spatial crack, a drop of the female giant's blood landed on his back.

From then on, the Scorpion Man's bloodline was tainted by the blood of a higher ranking being.

The descendants of the Scorpion Man all had this rune on their backs.

Strictly speaking, the rune on the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion was just a projection of the power of the female giant's bloodline.

However, just a projection and the wail it let out was enough to almost catch Leylin in an illusion.

In addition, the bloodlines of these higher ranked creatures all possessed incredible might even if there was just an aura of it left.

"A.I. Chip, how's the analysis on this fear-inducing rune?"

Leylin asked.

[Analysis complete. Obtained freezing and healing runes that are incomplete at 45%. Able to make a cross reference with 31% of the information with the wailing banshee] The A.I. Chip intoned.

"Huh?" Leylin was surprised. "Looks like the innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion to freeze and heal itself was affected by and formed from the blood of the female giant."

He suddenly had a thought that would exploit the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor to the fullest.

"If I combine that information about the technique to mend my sea of consciousness with the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's innate skill, burning through its bloodline and stimulating the abilities of the runes on its back to form a bloodline imprint that can be used once…"

Leylin's eyes shone blue as he calculated, "In that case, I can also use this freezing ability once, and its effects will even be amplified. The power of the bloodline inside would be enough to mend the damage to my sea of consciousness."

Using solidified spiritual force could do this as well, but it took far too long. In addition to this, Leylin wanted to regain his strength as a rank 2 Warlock as soon as possible.

"Freezing" was a unique innate talent of the Icy Jade Scorpions. While heavily injured, they could protect themselves in a thick layer of ice. Not only was it an ultimate defence, it could also help heal injuries.

Now, Leylin wanted to use this ability on himself.

"A.I. Chip, what is the feasibility of this idea?" Leylin immediately asked in his mind.

Large amounts of information and graphics flashed, and the A.I. Chip gave an answer. [Feasibility is at 87%. Host body first needs to undergo changes in order to be able to tolerate icy radiation.]

"As expected, it's possible!" Leylin's eyes exhibited his joy.

The innate freezing ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, as well as the slight projection of the power from an ancient bloodline, was definitely able to repair the sea of consciousness of a rank 2 Warlock.

This was the optimal method to make use of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.

After all, Leylin already had a lot of materials from the Icy Jade Scorpions. Besides, how could materials from another world be more important than his own strength?

"En! In that case, I should start making some preparations."

Leylin glanced at the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor in the ice mountain. Covered in a block of ice, this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor looked more fantastical, the green on its body looked almost alive.

Only the weakening of its life force and breath showed that it did not have long to live.

"A.I. Chip, prepare the Bloodline Ignition Potion. It's essential to make some preparations."

Leylin's eyes glinted coldly.

To completely make use of the freezing innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor, it was necessary to burn up all its blood completely and stimulate the fear-inducing rune on its back. Then, one needed to model it into a freezing bloodline rune, which involved a very complicated process.

However, all these preparations needed to start from somewhere. This was to ensure that this Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor could live through this, and secondly that Leylin himself could adapt to the harsh cold while in the frozen state.

……

Three days later, in the laboratory.

"Leylin, may I enter?" Celine's voice could be heard from outside.

"I've already undone the alarm spell formation. Come in." She promptly heard Leylin's answer and did not hesitate as she pushed the door to enter.

"This…" The moment she entered, Celine instinctively wrapped her clothes tightly around her.

Within the laboratory, large amounts of mist was everywhere. There was even a thick layer of frost on the surrounding walls and some instruments.

Meanwhile, Leylin was naked in a giant glass tank.

He was soaking in a blue icy liquid that seemed to be seeping into his body bit by bit, turning him a little blue.

"What are you doing?"

Celine had long since gotten used to Leylin's naked body, and she naturally approached him without flushing red. She judged the trough and was puzzled.

She found this icy aura very familiar.

"Isn't this the unique radiation of the icy caves?" All of a sudden, Celine thought of its origins.

"No, this is just an imitation. It isn't even 50% of the original, and can't keep an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor alive."

Leylin breathed in deeply, and the icy blue colour in the tank faded, turning from a dark blue to a lighter one, to the point that it was slightly translucent.

Over ten seconds passed, and the icy liquid in the trough had turned translucent.

Leylin stood up and walked out at this point.

Celine had prepared a towel and began to dry the droplets of water on his body like a caring wife.

"What do you plan to do to the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor?" Celine enquired.

"We're both going to go to the joint conference of the guilds in the east capital. When that happens, only Grandpa Cedric will be here, and it can't deal with an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor with the strength of a peak rank 1 Magus!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it by then."

Leylin was overjoyed.

Through the tempering of his body with the icy radiation over these few days, he had gradually gotten used to such a chilly temperature. With a few more remodelling attempts, he would be able to make use of the freezing innate ability of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor without any residual effects on himself to treat his injuries.

Of course, he would not mention this to Celine. She was an intelligent woman who knew what could and couldn't be asked.

"Do you need clothes?"

After dressing Leylin, Celine rested her head on Leylin's shoulder, her nimble little tongue licking at Leylin's earlobes and silently hinting at something.

"Of course not!"

Leylin laughed and pressed her down…

A warm breeze blew, causing one to have the urge to take a nap.

In the subterranean world, the humans of Twilight Zone could not divide the year into four seasons. They had only two ways of detecting the current season. One was based on the activity of the planet's crust, and dividing the year into the cold and warm season. Another way was through specific crops, and dividing it into the planting and harvesting seasons.

Such a warm breeze was the most obvious indication that it was the warm season.

Leylin sat on the back of a horse carriage with Celine by his side. An aromatic, crisp smell travelled over from Celine's hair, causing Leylin to feel slightly restless.

The people driving the carriage were the two level 3 acolytes, Obo and Ilya.

Within all of Nature's Alliance, these two were the ones who were somewhat able to do this.

The animals used to pull the carriage were obviously not horses, but an animal found underground—Wildebeests!

These animals were a lot larger than normal horses. They also had bony armour, and what was most obvious was the single horn on its head.

These animals were more patient than horses, they could also withstand some amount of radiation, and were the first choice for light Magi of the Twilight Zone when they went out on expeditions.

Of course, they was only useful for ordinary acolytes and Magi.

As for even more powerful Magi, they were naturally able to tame even more ferocious, mystical creatures, or even top-grade pets while they went on their journeys.

For a small guild like Nature's Alliance, using a Wildebeests showed how hard pressed they were.

However, they had no choice. After Celine took over, Nature's Alliance had not been in a good state and had been pressured in many areas. Based on the intel she received, there was a large possibility that the Nature's Alliance would be demoted from its rating in the joint conference.

In this situation, Celine had no choice but to look for external help. She could only turn to Leylin.

Though Leylin had been said to be a famed professor in name only, Celine had been tactful and given most of the authority in Nature's Alliance to him. Leylin wouldn't turn down such a large gift as well.

He also needed help from the other organisations for his upcoming plans. He had wanted to help Nature's Alliance expand and assist them based on the agreement they had.

However, it was also not a bad idea to take over this organisation.

Leylin thought to himself as he eyed Celine, who looked calm.

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