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

After finding out that the troops had not intentionally killed Toria, Yang Ling ordered Goode to lock them up for the time being. He was going to deal with them sometime in the future to prevent further agitating the already dissatisfied troops.

The Hunter Association had just been set up and the territory was undergoing high-speed development. What they needed now was a stable environment. Recklessly inciting conflict with the Troop Association was not beneficial to the Hunter Association or the territory.

Of course, keeping a low profile did not mean that he was going to allow the troops in his territory to do whatever they wanted. Locking up the troops that were causing trouble would not only prevent the exacerbation of conflict between the hunters and the troops, it would also serve as a threat to the dissatisfied troops!

Furthermore, Yang Ling could also alleviate the conflicts and disagreements between the troops and hunters if he utilized the strengths of the large merchant associations well. After all, the large merchant associations had to obtain the support of Yang Ling, the leader. In fact, the interests of the various large merchant associations and the territory’s interests aligned on many key aspects. Many times, the large merchant associations would automatically protect their mutual interests without Yang Ling having to say anything.

Behind every successful merchant association was an influential family, and the connections between the various factions were confusing and complicated. Having the families step forward to alleviate the conflicts between the Hunter Association and Troops Association was naturally the most suitable tactic.

To the merchant associations, a stable environment was a necessity for them to do business. No one would be willing to do business in an area with bloodshed around every corner. Additionally, alleviating the conflicts between the two associations would give them an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with Yang Ling, which was immensely beneficial to the merchant associations.

Over a day had passed. The troops slowly calmed down after seeing that the Hunter Association had not poached many of their jobs and that their personal interests were not fundamentally compromised. But no one was sure how long this peace would last. As the Hunter Association expanded, there would be no avoiding the conflicts and disagreements between the two parties.

After the saga of repeated requests from Khadanja, Yang Ling had no choice but to set off to the Terras Forest to plot the maps of a few dangerous regions. Before he left, he gathered the Gnome Elder, Goode, and Viola and prepared to give them a few critical instructions.

The construction projects for the harbor and pier could be worked on slowly, but they needed to get the military factory and Hunter Association on track as soon as possible. After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling said, “Goode, the military factory has to be ready as soon as possible. At the same time, try your best to absorb the barbarians and other aborigines into the Hunter Association to quickly expand the scale and influence of the association!”

“Yes, sir!” Goode received his orders and said after a moment’s hesitation, “Sir, we will definitely need Magic Hunting Cards if we want to quickly enhance the ability of the Hunter Association. Do you think that you could…”

Magic Hunting Cards?

Even though Goode had not finished his sentence, Yang Ling did not have to think too deeply to know that he wanted him to create a few more Magic Hunting Cards. Unfortunately, most of the hunters had too little Magical Energy in their bodies, and they were unable to use the Magic Hunting Cards no matter how many he produced. He was also unable to arrive at a major breakthrough within a short amount of time given his current understanding of the Imprisonment Restriction, which meant that he could not refine the Magic Hunting Cards.

The Gnome race had decent abilities. By drawing an Energy Gathering Spell Formation on the Magic Hunting Cards, it would be possible for an ordinary person with no Magical Energy to use the Magic Hunting Cards. Unfortunately, the Gnome’s Magical Spell Formation could not be produced in batches, and even if they succeeded in their experimentations, the quantity of the Magical Spell Formations they could produce every year was limited. The Magic Hunting Cards were completely insufficient for the Hunter Association already and it would only continue growing in scale!

Yang Ling departed on his unicorn after leaving the Gnome Elder and Viola with a few instructions, hesitating no longer.

He dismounted his unicorn after entering the vast Terras Forest, holding his sharp Blood Elf Dagger as he traversed quickly within the forest. Having advanced to the level of Heaven Wizard, his body was light as a swallow, his stamina rich. He was like a carp, darting around the sea of trees with great agility as he recorded the terrain.

With his Tree Eyes ability and his powerful senses, he could clearly feel every movement around him, even without the help of Magical Beasts to patrol the surrounding area. The tall trees, as well as the maize sprouting out of the snowy ground, gave off streaks of a familiar energy.

According to the explanation on the stele, the Soul Tampering Technique could erase the memories of any living creature, destroying their souls or directly absorbing the energy from within their souls. Conversely, it could also allow him to touch and strengthen their souls, or even forcefully summon the souls of those who had vanished from this world.

Even though he had merely trained to achieve the mid-level Soul Tampering Technique, Yang Ling felt as though he had entered a whole new world. In the past, he could only sense a familiar ripple coming from the trees, but now, he could clearly see its spirit.

After summoning a team of Horned Bee Beasts to protect himself, Yang Ling decided to close his eyes and traverse within the forest using his Tree Eyes ability. He ran forward as he opened his heart to the familiar ripples released by the various plants, gliding past the snowy ground like the wind, only leaving behind a faint string of footprints.

“How can I sketch my surroundings more quickly? Is taking a pen and drawing continuously really all I can do?” Yang Ling gently creased his brows after sensing the surrounding terrain with his Tree Eyes ability and through his Horned Bee Beasts. The Terras Forest spanned tens of thousands of miles. No one knew exactly how large this forest, the largest forest on the continent, truly was. Even though Elder Klive had informed him of the coordinates of treacherous lands, how long would it take him to complete the task if he were to slowly sketch out the entire map with only a pen?

“The Heart of the Ocean could display the terrain of the ocean in real-time. In the same way, could it also show the terrain of the forest?”

Yang Ling had a thought as he remembered the Siattu Tribe’s treasure which he obtained from the body of Flowing Venom. He quickly retrieved the Heart of the Ocean from within his Space Ring. After sitting down in an elevated area and instructing his Horned Bee Beasts to patrol the surroundings and be on the alert, he closely examined the mysterious Heart of the Ocean.

The Heart of the Ocean was about the size of a fist, with a dull glow moving across its surface, turning it a murky gray. It was ice cold to the touch, making the tips of his fingers numb, freezing him straight to the bone as if he had just touched a piece of ice.

“Must I place it in water for it to have an effect?” Yang Ling shook his head, unable to understand the technique for using the Heart of the Ocean despite having examined it for some time. He looked around and saw a small lake some distance away, then decided to summon his unicorn and rush there to see if the water would make any difference. Even though he was now much faster than he had been in the past, having advanced to the level of Heaven Wizard, he was still a bit slower than the speedy unicorn.

With the incredibly fast unicorn replacing his steps, he soon arrived at the destination.

The small lake had looked about the size of a matchbox from far away. Although it was still not too large now that he was seeing it up close, it was at least half the size of a basketball court. Perhaps due to the moving currents, the lake had not frozen over yet, only a few pieces of ice of varying sizes were clustered around the edge of the lake. Yang Ling could even see fish swimming in the crystal clear waters.

As a precaution, Yang Ling summoned a Tarantula King and had it weave a tightly knit web. He placed the Heart of the Ocean into the net before slowly dipping it into the water.

Bubbles…

He had just placed the Heart of the Ocean into the water when the murky orb let out streams of little bubbles. They were seemingly never-ending, forming a small vortex under the water.

“Just what secret lies inside the Heart of the Ocean?” In his curiosity, Yang Ling carefully released a bolt of mental energy, slowly approaching the mysterious Heart of the Ocean. Soon, he discovered something strange.

Previously, he had been unable to penetrate the steel-like shell of the Heart of the Ocean no matter how much mental energy he sent toward the orb. But it was different now. His mental energy was cleanly absorbed the moment it approached the orb as if it was entering a bottomless hole. A bright flash of light then made its way past the surface of the Heart of the Ocean.

“Oh, that’s weird. It even absorbs mental energy on its own?” After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling decided to sit down cross-legged and silently recite both the Wizard Mantra and the Psychic Spell, absorbing the spiritual energy from his surroundings. He gradually increased the intensity of the mental energy he was releasing, prepared to explore the mysterious Heart of the Ocean more intently.

Having advanced to the level of Heaven Wizard, not only did his mental energy and Wizard Power increase, but his control over his mental energy had also become much more powerful than it was in the past. As his senses grew stronger and he grew more familiar with the technique used to control the mental energy he was releasing.

The Terras Forest was covered in spiritual energy, and he could absorb a large amount of life force from it at any time to replenish the mental energy he expended. Without having to worry, Yang Ling spent his efforts on exploring the secrets of the Heart of the Ocean, his powerful mental energy surrounding it like a spider’s web.

As bolts of silver light flashed past its surface, the gray, murky Heart of the Ocean finally underwent an obvious transformation. A silver light flashed over the surface of the orb, its color getting brighter and brighter, as if it was a small light bulb that was gradually getting turned on.

After expending a large amount of mental energy, Yang Ling finally succeeded and planted his consciousness in the interior of the Heart of the Ocean.

The interior of the Heart of the Ocean was made up of thousands of little crystal balls, like stars in the sky, or specks of sand in a desert. Every crystal ball was rotating constantly, sometimes to the left and other times to the right. They would also jump and disappear in the blink of an eye!

The movement of an individual crystal ball might not have any pattern, but from far away, Yang Ling could see that the countless crystal balls formed a strange image when considered together. They would gather and split as time passed as if they were forming complicated miniature Magic Spell Formations!

With Blood Essence as fuel, Wizard and Mental Powers at the core, one could control every living creature in the universe!

Thinking about the explanation of the Imprisonment Restriction on the stele, looking at the countless tiny crystal balls, Yang Ling had a thought. He bit open his index finger after retrieving the Heart of the Ocean from the water, then pressed his bleeding finger against the orb and recited the Wizard Mantra, casting the Space Imprisonment Spell to the best of his ability. In that instant, a massive amount of Wizard Power and mental energy welled out of him like the tide, quickly entering the interior of the mysterious Heart of the Ocean!