Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Triangle Face Robert only came to his senses after the luxurious carriage adorned with the Insignia of the Holy Flame had disappeared from sight, and the rest of the gold-armored knights had left. He screamed at his guards to resume the attack, but it was too late. Lia, Hans, and the rest had already disappeared, escaping in the chaos.

After making their way far from the city gate and ascertaining that they were not in any danger, the group split up and returned to their respective families. After declining Halalei’s passionate invitation, Yang Ling brought Yuna and Orlando to a small inn. In order to hide their tracks and prevent themselves from being exposed, he left his unique carriage with Halalei for safekeeping.

“Brother Yang, why did you decline Halalei’s invitation? The Nicholas family is very influential. Wouldn’t it be better to deepen our relationship with them?” Yuna voiced the doubt in her heart. The influence of the Nicholas family was exceptional across the entirety of the Livenza Alliance. Staying in their castle for a time would not only guarantee their safety, it would also bring their relationship closer. She could not understand why the intelligent Yang Ling would miss such a great opportunity.

“Orlando, what do you think?” Yang Ling smiled and did not answer Yuna’s query, instead asking Orlando what he thought.

“Sir, I am not sure about this either!” Orlando smiled, a little embarrassed. “Even though our safety would be guaranteed if we stayed at the castle of the Nicholas family, we would not have much freedom when it comes to our movements!”

“The lack of freedom is only one of the reasons. We are not exactly friends with the Nicholas family at the moment, and the interests between may not be as great as you think. Before the situation is clear, we must not place unwarranted emphasis on our relationship!”

After taking a sip of the rum he had taken out of his Space Ring, Yang Ling set about explaining carefully.

The family backing Halalei was indeed influential, and they did have a preliminary plan of working together after he saved City Master Croix’s life. But the situation they were in was ever changing, and they would be remiss to place too much emphasis on their unstable relationship before the situation was clear. That would put them on a back foot if circumstances went awry.

On the contrary, even though the overall influence of the Boulade Merchants Association helmed by Harribell was not as great as the deeply rooted Nicholas family, they had a deeper relationship with each other, and had always maintained a healthy collaboration. If things went wrong, Harribell would be one of his strongest allies.

Yang Ling had been prepared to look for Harribell the moment he reached Montson, but understood that she was hard at work trying to deal with his matters after overhearing her conversation with the emperor’s lover in the carriage. In order to not create any hiccups with his appearance, he had decided to wait a day.

That night, after Yuna and Orlando had fallen asleep, Yang Ling thought about Orlando, who was snoring thunderously. He had been dealing with all the tough work in their journey from Wissen Town. He had been responsible for tasks such as hunting, scouting and setting up camp. He had never complained, but he was clearly thoroughly exhausted.

Yang Ling sat down on the bed and prepared to train. He let his consciousness drift a bit, ensuring nothing unusual was nearby, then summoned a few Horned Bee Beasts to protect him while he trained.

Compared to Wissen Town, so near the Terras Forest, the spiritual energy in Montson was pathetically thin, and there was basically no green life force coming from the trees. Luckily, there were no dark clouds in the sky, and he could clearly see the stars.

Silently reciting the Starlight Wizard Mantra and keeping his mind empty, Yang Ling could feel the magnificent energy of the stars enter his body, his Body Honing Technique activating automatically. As he absorbed more of the energy, every inch of his skin was filled with explosive power. His clothing swayed without wind.

If he continued to train like this, he might reach a stage where his skin could not be punctured by blades or spears. He would become indestructible!

Yang Ling could not help but imagine the possibilities as he felt his muscles being honed. Over this period of time, he had realized that not only did his strength increase, the defensive abilities of his body had also grown. When he activated his protective Wizard Power to its fullest potential, ordinary swords and blades would not be able to leave a mark on his skin.

Yang Ling was full of hope for the future. Even though he had only reached mid-level Earth Wizard level, he was confident that he would be able to hold his own against the Sword Saints, Magical Tutors and Heaven-ranked Assassins of this world.

According to the explanation on the stele, he would be able to grasp the powerful Soul Tampering Technique when he reached the level of Heaven Wizard. He would then be able to strengthen his mental energy by absorbing the souls of Magical Beasts. He would be able to come into contact with the most mysterious technique used to control souls in this world. Then, Yang Ling believed that he would stand a chance against a sage level expert!

The progress on his Wizard Power and physical ability was fast, but there were also huge changes in the space with the Wizard’s Pagoda. After the pagoda-shaped mark between his brows absorbed a large amount of the pure energy from the stars, the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda once again expanded. Looking from where the Wizard’s Pagoda stood, there were boundless fields as far as the eye could see.

With the nourishment of the water from the lake, the forest of Arrow Bamboo changed drastically, transforming into a lush forest. The overall area was still not as large as the natural forest of Arrow Bamboo in the valley, there was an initial sense of scale. It was enough to act as a home for the Bloodthirsty Ants.

In the span of a few days, the many worker ants had begun to build a massive hive in the new Arrow Bamboo forest. It had spawned nests upon nests of eggs, as well as cultivated many young ants.

Having only Bloodthirsty Ants as a sole food source was too little. Perhaps he would only be able to build a true Magical Beast Base after he captured thousands of wild beasts and created a forest spanning thousands of miles to form a complete ecosystem!

After making his way around the forest of Arrow Bamboo, looking at the massive Magical Beast army guarding the surroundings, Yang Ling shook his head. The rate of reproduction of the queen ant was fast, but it was hard for it to supply the Magical Beast army with enough food so quickly.

Yang Ling played with the young Unicorn for a bit, and then brought his consciousness out of the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda, and continued training, absorbing energy from the stars. He wanted to reach the status of high-level Earth Wizard and grasp Wizard Techniques on a more powerful scale as soon as possible.

After training the entire night, on the morning of the second day, Yang Ling instructed Yuna and Orlando to stay inside unless absolutely necessary, and then he stole off toward Harribell’s address alone.

As the greatest duchy in the Livenza Alliance, the economic and military might of the Kaliya duchy was far superior than that of the other, smaller duchies. The name of the capital was widely known on the Tailun Continent. The prospering economy, the massive human traffic, a large variety of buildings…

Monston was large, but everyone knew where the quarters of the Boulade family were. In just an hour, Yang Ling arrived at his destination. After showing the token Harribell had given him, a middle aged butler led him to a lavishly decorated meeting hall.

After the butler announced him, Harribell soon walked out, behind her a young, slender lady. She had a delicate figure, her legs long and slender. She was wearing a tight fitting black shirt. Yang Ling could smell a faint fragrance emanating from her even though she was still a distance away. He had a sense of familiarity, as if he had smelled the scent somewhere before.

Could she be the emperor’s lover, who was with Harribell the previous day in the carriage of the royal family?

She had an alluring figure, her every action tugging at him. Even though she was wearing a veil, it still revealed the petite frame of her face. She was extremely beautiful.

“Yang Ling, this is Diana. We grew up together!” After a few formalities, Harribell introduced the veiled beauty to Yang Ling before serving him a warm cup of jasmine tea personally.

She had been anticipating the arrival of Yang Ling and working hard to help with his matters after she heard that Yang Ling had begun his journey to Montson. On the surface, she had told her family and outsiders that she was doing this for the interests of the merchant team, but only she knew the true reason.

When she had just met Yang Ling at the edge of the Terras Forest, she had thought that he was a powerful Magical Tutor, or maybe even a sage-level fighter. She only had gratitude for Yang Ling after he saved her father with the Water of the Spring of Life.

But as she interacted with Yang Ling, especially when they were planning to deal with the faction of the Banto Empire and conceptualizing the development of the Magical Beast Territory together, she developed a deeper appreciation, as well as an unexplainable feeling, for Yang Ling.

Ever since her father had become ill, for the merchant team that was put in increasing amounts of pressure, for her gradually declining family, she had no choice but to put schemes against many other people day in and day out. On the surface, she looked grand and magnificent, but in reality, she had been exhausted. Now that she was recalling it, the time she spent in Wissen Town had been the most relaxing, joyful time she had had in years.

She enjoyed the vast forest, she liked the quaint town, and she also liked Yang Ling’s confident expression and faint smile…

With Harribell’s introduction, Yang Ling finally understood how she could have built a relationship with the Emperor’s favored lover.

Just as Harribell was about to explain the latest situation to Yang Ling, a butler dressed in a long gray robe walked in quickly, and said, “Miss, a warrior from the crystal mine has come, saying that he has an urgent report!”

Creasing her brow, Harribell followed the butler out. She had spent a great amount of capital and effort on that crystal mine at the border, and she would not allow any mistakes.

With Harribell gone, there was only the masked Diana and Yang Ling left in the hall. Even though he could not see her eyes, Yang Ling could clearly sense that the other party was staring at him.

“Yang Ling, you made a long journey from Wissen Town to Montson, you must be tired!” After pouring herself a glass of wine, Diana said as she sat beside Yang Ling. In that instant, Yang Ling could feel a fragrance enter his nostrils. Perhaps it was because they were sitting so close, but to Yang Ling it seemed that the temperature in the room had increased.

Her fair white skin, alluring curves, and her lips, faintly visible…

Yang Ling silently recited the Wizard Mantra and tried his best to calm himself. The lady beside him was the mistress of the emperor. Even though she was beautiful and captivating, even the most lecherous of men would not dare have impure thoughts, unless they were tired of living!