by Zhuang Bifan
Lin Li had been trapped in the chaos of time and space for half a year. After coming out, he hurried back to the Tower of Dusk, but he did not feel too fatigued, since he was a level-23 Legendary-mage, after all. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk could not stand it. After all, they were still mortals and ordinary mages because they had yet to enter the Legendary-realm. After being harassed by the Dark Blade for half a year, the intensity of the attacks was increasing and becoming more and more menacing each day. Although it was all over now, they had been exhausted physically and mentally for a long time.
Although the healing potions could allow their injuries to heal very quickly and even replenish the blood that was lost, the energy consumption could only be recovered through rest. No amount of healing potions would help replenish energy. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had to rest for three days in a row before they could eliminate their fatigue.
For the basic contribution value, Gavin selected 40 mages, some of whom had reached level-19, while some had just broken through level-15. Standing in the hall, the mages were full of excitement, and they stared at their godlike President without blinking.
The rest of the mages who were standing around the 40 mages were those who had not been selected. They were staring at their peers, all green with envy. However, there was nothing they could do, because their peers were the ones who'd contributed greatly to the Tower of Dusk! Even though they did not get selected, they did not find the results to be unfair, and simply thought about how they could increase their contributions in the future.
In fact, the continuous attacks launched by the Dark Blade in the past six months did bring about a certain benefit for the Tower of Dusk. It basically wiped out all of the members who wavered in their loyalty or had ulterior motives. It could be said that most of the members who'd stayed behind were very loyal to the Tower of Dusk.
Lin Li scanned the 40 mages who were selected, and nodded secretly. Although not all talented mages were selected, the fact that they could be shortlisted because of their talent meant that they were not untalented, either.
Lin Li had no idea if anyone could break through to Legendary-realm, but he was certain that there would definitely be an additional group of Archmages who were above level-18.
"Although Gavin didn't state the reason for choosing you guys, you should be able to guess it. Yes, it's indeed because of your contributions to the Tower of Dusk. In the next few days, I will provide you with some welfare benefits that will help increase your abilities. However, the gains that you can make are mostly dependent on your hard work and effort," Lin Li said to the group.
As expected! It was just like what they guessed! The 40 mages who tried to contain their excitement said in unison, "President, please be assured that we will work hard to live up to the expectations that you have of us."
Apart from the generous treatment, the biggest attraction in joining the Tower of Dusk was the opportunity to get the guidance of Legendary powerhouses. Besides, they still had no idea that Lin Li, the young President, was not an ordinary Legendary powerhouse. A Legendary powerhouse could never have defeated the two Legendary leaders of the Dark Blade so effortlessly.
"Gavin, take them upstairs," said Lin Li. He had spent the past two days arranging everything. Hence, he did not put in too much effort into guiding them now.
The most effective thing Lin Li had which could quickly enhance the strength of mages was the Seed of Eternity, as well as the controlling magical crystal of the Sky Castle. However, although the Sky Castle contained almost infinite mana, it would be depleted eventually because the Seed of Eternity was already dead. Lin Li was trying to find a way to revive the Seed of Eternity, and thus would not deplete its power. If he were to find a viable method but the mana was already almost depleted, he would be at a huge loss.
Hence, for the special training for the mages, Lin Li chose to use the huge controlling magical crystal. In terms of mana, the mana contained in the magical crystal seemed to be greater than that in the Tree of Eternity. Most importantly, the recovery ability of the magical crystal was extremely strong.
When a magical crystal reached the Legendary level, it would have the same recovery ability as a mage's meditation. Although Lin Li could not figure out what level it was, he was sure that it was definitely far beyond the Sanctuary-realm. Even if 40 mages continuously absorbed its mana, they might not be able to keep up with the recovery speed of the controlling magical crystal. There would be no effect on it at all.
Although Lin Li had to bring the controlling magical crystal everywhere with him, the massive power of the magical crystal was almost enough to make all 40 mages reach the peak of level-19. As for stepping into the Legendary-realm, that could not be achieved simply with an external force. It required the mage's personal understanding of the nomological power. Lin Li could use his own experience to guide them along, but he could not take them to the Legendary-realm.
However, Lin Li still had some High Elven books of magic that would help with knowledge about magic. The books were the works of the greatest magic educator during the reign of the High Elves, Oloderis. Although they were basic theories, the foundation knowledge was what would give them clarity and a better understanding of nomological power.
Lin Li freed up a room on one of the floors of the Tower of Dusk and used it as a room for special training. The controlling magical crystal was placed in the center of the hall, and the magic books were placed on a row of bookshelves by the wall, which the mages in training could access freely. Lin Li did not hide the controlling magical crystal, firstly because the selected mages were trustworthy, and secondly because he would definitely put it away when he left.
However, what Lin Li did not expect was the fact that the 40 mages did not make many speculations about the huge magical crystal in the middle after arriving, even though they were shocked by the huge mana that filled the lobby. Due to the fact that the size of the magical crystal had exceeded their imagination, they did not associate it with magical crystals.
Chapter 696 - Waves From All Sides
Sometimes, people tended to lose their urge to imagine something when things were really beyond imagination. In the eyes of the mages, the huge magical crystal might be some sort of Magical Crystalloid or something else, but definitely not a magical crystal.
"What we have to do is actually the same as usual. We just have to stay here to meditate and acc.u.mulate mana. There are books on magic that President brought back from the Haiga Mountain Range on that bookshelf. Those books are the teaching material for magic that the High Elves used during the Dark Age. If you have any doubts during this period of time, you may read the books to find the answers to your questions. If you can't find any answer, President will give you the answers…" Gavin instructed, after which he picked a few mages and sat down with them to meditate.
After listening to Gavin's instructions, everyone could not help but feel somewhat disappointed. They wondered, Can meditation and learning as usual really help us improve our abilities in a short period of time?
However, when everyone sat down and began meditating, they suddenly yelled in shock.
When mages meditated, they actually captured the magical elements in space before transforming them into their own mana which was stored within themselves, continuously expanding the limit of their storage. A certain amount of the mage's mental strength would definitely be depleted, be it during the process of capturing or transforming.
However, the mages had just begun to meditate, and had yet to channel their mental strength, yet the massive mana that surrounded them seemed to be surging into their bodies like a flood. It was absolutely terrifying. It was not meditation at all. It was a crazy influx of mana! In the blink of an eye, they could already feel an obvious rise in their power.
With Lin Li's current strength, which was at the peak of level-23, the amount of mana he gained from standing beside the magical crystal for a moment would be equivalent to the amount he would
gain in a week of meditation, what more the level-19 mages. In fact, one of the level-15 Archmages managed to advance to level-16 after sitting down for a moment.
If it weren't for the maintaining of the friendly competition within the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would definitely allow hundreds of mages under him to join in and create a batch of Archmages within a short period of time. However, there were now 20 Alchemy Puppets that Lin Li had brought back to the Tower of Dusk; hence, it could be said that they did not lack any combat power below the Legendary-level. Most importantly, Lin Li hoped for Legendary-mages that truly belonged to the Tower of Dusk to emerge amongst the 40 mages.
Several mages who were already at level-19 stood up. They knew that at the speed just now, they might reach the peak of level-19 soon, but that would still be extremely far away from the Legendary-realm. They were the elites of the crowd in the first place. Hence, they naturally wanted to improve tremendously during this period of time and not disappoint others when they left.
For mages below the Legendary-level, the only way to increase their strength was to acc.u.mulate mana, but in order to enter the Legendary-realm, they would require more substantial knowledge about magic so that they would have a stronger foundation that would allow them to understand and appreciate the mysteries of the nomological power. The level-19 mages who were led by Evan were full of anticipation for the books of magic that Lin Li had brought back from the Haiga Mountain Range.
The High Elven script should be considered a compulsory subject for mages in the Tower of Dusk because reading those magic books was not difficult for them. However, the first mage to get his hands on the books frowned slightly after flipping through the pages. He murmured, "Well, this doesn't seem like much."
Several other people also looked at the books of magic on the shelves, all full of doubt. Indeed, it did seem a little puzzling at first, but as they continued to read on, they gradually understood the value of these magic books. They discovered solutions to the minor problems that they usually encountered, and also noticed some of their misconceptions. They could clearly feel that the theoretical knowledge in the books was like a bunch of keys that slowly opened the door to the Legendary-realm for them.
"Tegel, why did you come back? Did the Dark Blade retreat?" an elder of the Malfa Family, Sorenson, asked while staring at Tegel and the rest who had suddenly returned from the Tower of Dusk.
"The Dark Blade… did not retreat…" Tegel and the others began to look more awkward and uneasy as they thought about the incident that took place that day. Lin Li gave them too great of a shock; none of them dared to believe that he was only in his early twenties.
However, Sorenson noticed the expressions of Tegel and the other mages, and interpreted them differently. He solemnly asked, "If the Dark Blade didn't retreat, does that mean that the Tower of Dusk has been conquered?"
Sorensen couldn't help but hate the other elders. If it weren't for their opposition, he definitely wouldn't have sent just Tegel and the other four mages. Now that the Dark Blade had conquered the Tower of Dusk, they'd definitely experience a surge in strength within a short period of time. Those lunatics are probably going to deal with th Malfa Family next. However, what the Malfa Family needs now is time for development, not a war, he thought.
"No, no, President Felic of the Tower of Dusk returned," Tegel quickly explained.
"What? That young mage of the Tower of Dusk is back!?" Upon hearing the news, Sorenson suddenly stood up in shock.
"Yes, Sir, not only did President Felic return, he even managed to seriously injure Borg from the Dark Blade with a single blow." Tegel would still feel a sudden chill in his heart whenever he thought of the destructive blow from the Light and Darkness Sword even now.
"It only took a single blow…" Sorensen couldn't help but clench his fists tightly. Although he had heard from his father Cheyenne that President Felic of the Tower of Dusk had reached the peak of level-22, he knew that even an ordinary level-22 Legendary powerhouse wouldn't be able to severely injure their old enemy Borg with a single blow.
"Later on, Baldela and Borg joined forces, but only for a moment because they were soon restrained by President Felic's magic. All of the Dark Blade's attacking power was completely destroyed." Sorenson already found the truth to be hard to accept, yet Tegel told him about something that was even more incredible.
Damn, this is too crazy, did that young mage get trained by the gods for a year!? Sorenson sat back in his chair and looked at the other four mages beside Tegel. He could tell from the expressions on their faces that Tegel did not lie.
"Prepare some gifts. Tegel will be the messenger… Wait, I think I'd better make a trip there in person. Also, look after the Tower of Dusk's business in the city. Do not let anyone take it over. Otherwise, there will be no mercy spared!" Sorenson ordered. Sorensen was the chief elder of the Malfa Family in the end, so he quickly suppressed the horror in his heart, and prepared for the new changes.
Sorensen was no longer a child; hence, he would not worship anyone blindly, nor would he think that his idol was invincible. He knew that Tegel and the others were not lying, and he also knew that even though his father Cheyenne had broken through to level-22, it would be impossible for him to defeat Baldela and Borg at the same time. The power of the young mage of the Tower of Dusk was absolutely terrifying. Fortunately, the Malfa Family had not done anything to offend or harm the Tower of Dusk in the past six months.
"The young President of the Tower of Dusk is back! He managed to defeat Baldela and Borg of the Dark Blade, all by himself!"
The shocking news spread around the Malfa Family within a short period of time, and began spreading like wildfire in the Breezy Plains.
In the Castellan Mansion of Doland City, a sudden shriek filled the air at night. According to the servants of the Castellan Mansion, the overbearing young master was almost killed by the angry castellan. If it weren't for the desperate efforts of the castellan's wife, there would be one less troublemaker in Doland City. Upon hearing the rumors, everyone shook their heads and sighed. Indeed, troublemakers never died.
Arathor, the castellan of Roland City, immediately summoned Sienna, the head of the mercenaries who was left out for a long time. After a long confidential conversation, Sienna left Roland City with hefty gifts. Arathor then ordered the security officials in Roland City to investigate all cases involving smashing and looting in the past six months, claiming that the victim had to be given a fair and satisfactory account. All of a sudden, the entire Roland City entered the state of combat readiness as a large number of guards shuttled through the city and arrested the groups of criminals.
"PAT!"
William was so angry that he turned as pale as a sheet. Pointing with a shaking finger at the steward in front of him who had a palm-shaped mark on his face, William barked, "Who made you change those conditions of cooperation!? Who gave you that authority!?"
"Master William, I'm doing this for the Time Consignment Store. By doing this, we can completely obtain greater benefits," the other party explained anxiously with horror on his face.
"You!!"
William was feeling just as helpless. Who knew that that young President who was verified to have met with a mishap by the Malfa Family and the elves would actually come back miraculously half a year later with an even more horrifying level of strength. He knew that Lin Li was not a magnanimous person. If any conflicts had happened during their cooperation in the past six months…
"No matter what method you use, find the person in charge of the Tower of Dusk and revise the agreement of the agreement. Give them double the benefits stated in the agreement that we have given them in the past six months. In addition, draft and re-sign another agreement which includes the gifting of another portion of benefits to them. Also, if you dare to take matters into your own hands and act presumptuously, I'll skin you alive! Scram!!" William hollered. If he hadn't been exasperated, he wouldn't have said such harsh words.
The n
ews soon spread through the entire Malfa Family through various means. Those who had interacted with Lin Li were shocked by Lin Li's strength, but they had no choice but concede that as long as the young President was involved, no miracle was impossible.
However, there were still many other forces that sneered at the news released by the Malfa Family. In their opinion, it was very likely that it was just a piece of fake news that the Malfa Family had released in order to fully take over the power of the Tower of Dusk. The two Legendary leaders of the Dark Blade were famous powerhouses in the Breezy Plains. They reckoned that even if the young President of the Tower of Dusk had returned, the battle would definitely not have been as exaggerated as the Malfa Family's elders had made it out to be. Beating two of them with a single blow and restricting them with power sounded just like a fairy tale.
"President, the chief elder of the Malfa Family, Sorenson, is waiting to see you in the guest hall."
"President, the castellan of Doland City is here with gifts. He congratulates you for returning safely. The messenger is waiting for you in the guest hall…"
"President, Castellan Arathor from Roland City sent his messenger…"
"President, the Time Consignment Store…"
After arranging the special training for the mages, Lin Li began to answer some questions for Wilkinson and the rest. However, at this moment, the big shots of the Breezy Plains were streaming in to the Tower of Dusk one after another with hefty and expensive gifts.
The Malfa Family was the first. To Lin Li's surprise, Sorenson, the chief elder, actually visited in person. That undoubtedly meant that Cheyenne put the Tower of Dusk on the same level as the Malfa Family, or perhaps even higher. Although Cheyenne had already personally invited Lin Li more than half a year ago, at the end of the day, Cheyenne had already retired as their chief elder. Hence, Sorenson, the current chief elder, was the only one who could really represent the Malfa Family.
