Translator: SumTLMan
In fact, the closest place to the dark clouds was the Eternal Tree, as some of the dark clouds had already covered the lower branches of the tree.
Outside Tree Spirit Hall, on the leaf veins, Tree Spirit wearing a leaf skirt covering key spots had ceased his lazy sunbathing due to the sudden change. He removed his sunglasses and looked down at the surging dark clouds.
Tree Spirit’s eyes flashed with a few complex symbols, and the courtyard at the center of the dark clouds, as well as the people’s aura within it, were immediately relayed to their minds.
“Ah, so it’s this little fellow,” a rare expression of astonishment appeared on the handsome face of Tree Spirit. “If I recall correctly, it hasn’t even been a year since he came to the Savage Grottoes, yet he has already advanced to an intermediate alchemy apprentice? Truly a force to be reckoned with.”
“How could I keep such an interesting event to myself?”
As Tree Spirit spoke, he took out a communicator to contact Sanders but found that Sanders seemed to have left the Savage Grottoes.
Tree Spirit thought for a moment, put down the communicator, and took out a maple leaf emitting a faint green light. The leaf spun in midair for a while before Tree Spirit whispered, “So, he went to the Twilight Deep Well.”
At this moment, Sanders was sitting in a secluded hall within the Twilight Deep Well.
Red curtains shrouded the four sides of the hall. Sitting at the head of the long table in the center, Sanders was surrounded by official wizards. The three major families behind the Twilight Deep Well had gathered nearly twenty wizards.
“The auction has been suspended for two days, and many consignors have grown impatient and withdrawn their items. This has not only caused tremendous losses but also damaged Twilight’s reputation. I suggest that we must initiate accountability!” Twilight spoke, looking at everyone but not daring to look at Sanders.
“I also support accountability!” The enchanting witch, Crane, immediately agreed due to the death of her friend, the Lioness.
However, the others did not express their stance, only staring at Sanders at the head of the table, waiting for him to speak.
The head of the Amber Dragonwing family was Hannibal Barca, with an eerie totem appearing and disappearing on his forehead: “Shouldn’t we first address the current situation before bringing up anything else? You not only refrain from offering solutions but keep demanding accountability. It seems that you prioritize accountability over problem-solving.”
Twilight stood up, glaring coldly at Hannibal: “The aura of the original puppet wizard has completely vanished. This is the second official wizard we have lost, and since it’s not one of your people, you obviously aren’t worried.”
Hannibal spoke unhurriedly, “Does disappearance necessarily mean death? Perhaps he escaped through a planar passageway.”
“Enough!” Daedweia’s imposing presence swept across the room, “Now is not the time for debate. Lord Hannibal is right; our priority is to find a solution.”
With that, Daedweia respectfully looked towards Sanders. They had immediately invited Sanders here upon his arrival today to resolve the issue concerning the auction’s inner venue.
Sanders spoke indifferently, “I have just checked, and the energy set up in the auction’s inner venue is a peculiar type, not belonging to the wizarding world but originating from elsewhere. Though it only exhibits a level two wizard peak energy response, the energy is of an extremely high level. We can infer that this energy requires at least a legendary level to unleash.”
A legendary level! The wizards present revealed expressions of shock and exchanged glances.
“If a legendary creature has arrived, you should consider yourselves fortunate. At least they haven’t initiated a killing spree; those who have died brought it upon themselves.” Sanders cast a slightly mocking glance at Twilight, “You want to hold someone accountable? Are you suggesting that my student, who was a mere mortal half a year ago and has just reached the rank of a level one wizard apprentice, summoned a legendary creature at the Twilight Auction House? And then ordered it to kill the little lioness and the original puppet wizard?”
“Don’t you find it ridiculous?” Wherever Sanders looked, people lowered their heads, unable to withstand his sharp gaze, even Daedweia slowly closed his eyes.
“It’s not necessarily the arrival of a legendary creature. According to the information received from the inner venue before the puppet wizard’s disappearance, he only saw the fox, the frog, and a joker card. I have seen these three magical creatures, and none of them are legendary. However, they were able to set up that energy field, perhaps borrowing the power of a legendary level. I will investigate further after entering the inner venue.”
Before Sanders could finish speaking, a green light suddenly emerged from within his clothes. Following that, a green maple leaf flew out from his bosom.
Under everyone’s gaze, a half-naked, handsome man’s phantom emerged from the leaf, “Hey, Sanders.”
Upon seeing this half-naked phantom, the first to react was not Sanders, but Daedweia on the other side. He bowed respectfully to the man in the phantom, addressing him as “Tree Spirit Lord.”
Tree Spirit glanced over, “If it isn’t the little lion! It’s been a while, and your hairstyle is getting more and more stylish, I can’t even compare.”
Daedweia, with his explosive hair, remained silent.
“What are you all doing here? So many people waiting for a banquet? Never mind, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing; I’m just here to see Sanders.”
“Tree Spirit Lord,” Sanders spoke calmly, “Using long-distance communication, has something significant occurred?”
“Significant? I haven’t encountered anything significant in tens of thousands of years. I genuinely wish I could experience something significant.”
“Then, Tree Spirit Lord, what brings you to me?”
“Hehe, I’ve come across something interesting and thought I’d share it with you.”
A fun event, and they’re willing to consume a massive amount of magic power for remote communication? Moreover, it’s a communication that crosses two spatial barriers? The wizards present couldn’t help but mutter in their minds: Indeed, it’s Tree Spirit who supports the entire Mirror World with its energy, so abundant that it can act impulsively. Admirable.
“See for yourself!” Tree Spirit flew into mid-air, transmitting the image of the rolling dark clouds below.
“This seems to be an alchemical omen, right?” Speaking was Daedweia, who, after years of dealing with various alchemical items, had developed keen observation skills.
Sanders glanced at it without commenting. Although alchemical omens rarely occurred in the Savage Grottoes, perhaps only a few times a year, they appeared daily in the Sky Mechanical City and could not be considered a significant event.
Apart from Daedweia’s polite exclamation of surprise, none of the other wizards present showed any particularly astonished expressions.
However, although they were not surprised, the wizards began to consider another matter: Only mid-level or higher alchemical items would produce omens, and such items would cost at least several thousand magic crystals. If they could establish contact with the creator, this could be used as an auction item for the second half of the Twilight Auction.
“Aren’t you interested? Don’t you find it amusing?” Tree Spirit playfully approached Sanders.
Sanders replied indifferently, “If the esteemed Tree Spirit wishes to see an omen, Liana will be back soon. You can ask her to perform at Tree Spirit Hall.”
Tree Spirit’s eyes curved like crescents, “It seems you haven’t understood my meaning yet. Look closely at the center of this dark cloud.”
This time, Tree Spirit projected Angel’s courtyard directly onto the illusion. Upon seeing it, Sanders raised his eyebrows and revealed a faint smile after a while.
“Is Angel practicing alchemy?”
“Not only that, just look. Half a year ago, he was a mere mortal, and now he’s advanced to a mid-level apprentice. What an amusing thing! Sanders, I have a little immature suggestion for you. Since Angel’s alchemical talent is so outstanding, why not transfer this disciple to me? I’ll teach him, and my little ones like him too,” said Tree Spirit.
“What can you teach him? Alchemy?” Sanders saw through Tree Spirit’s intentions with a single glance. Tree Spirit merely admired Angel’s exceptional talent, even seeing the potential for him to advance to an alchemy master, and wanted to claim the title of “Alchemy Master’s Mentor” early – how prestigious and amusing!
“I can teach him many things, like sunbathing, planting flowers, watering plants, and playing games.”
As Tree Spirit continued to list its daily activities, Sanders scoffed and unilaterally severed the connection.
Although the connection was severed, the smile on Sanders’ face did not fade.
Daedweia reluctantly offered his congratulations, “Impressive! I didn’t expect someone so young to reach the intermediate level as an alchemy apprentice. Such talent…” He initially intended to make a casual remark, but couldn’t help adding, “Prodigy.”
To go from an ordinary person to an intermediate alchemy apprentice in just six months? If this wasn’t prodigious, what was? Among the more than twenty wizards present, not one was an intermediate alchemy apprentice. Even Daedweia himself had tried alchemy, but his talents in both mineralogy and potion-making were pathetically low. It took him decades to barely reach the level of a junior alchemy apprentice, thanks to his own pursuit of the path of true knowledge as a wizard.
Sanders responded with a faint smile, “Angel just got a bit lucky, that’s all.”
Although he said this, Sanders was filled with pride in his heart. The student he had nurtured not only reached the intermediate level as an alchemy apprentice but also possessed exceptional talent in illusion magic. He even managed to merge with the Nightmare Domain. Who would’ve thought? Impressive, right?
Upon hearing that Angel had reached the intermediate level of alchemy apprenticeship, the most emotionally affected person in the room was Twilight.
Even the ancient Tree Spirit wanted to snatch Angel away from Sanders’ hands. Could she really kill him in the future? Twilight regretted not killing Angel at the auction more than once, especially this time.
Twilight’s intense emotions were almost uncontainable. Sanders glanced up and noticed Twilight’s unusual state.
Sanders sneered, “Speaking of which, Angel’s rapid breakthrough to an intermediate alchemy apprentice is largely thanks to Lady Twilight.”
Twilight suddenly looked up.
“If it weren’t for the inexplicable debt of a hundred thousand magic crystals, how could his usually laid-back and indolent nature drive him to work so hard? So, I must really thank you.” This was what they called a backhanded compliment. How could Angel’s nature be considered indolent? But with Sanders’ remark, Angel’s prodigious level and his teaching quality instantly soared several notches. And at the same time, he managed to mock Twilight, killing several birds with one stone.
Twilight’s face turned extremely ugly, but she dared not defy Sanders. She could only suppress the volcanic rage in her heart and say, “Is that so? It’s my honor.”