Chapter 905: Old Friends
After exploring and hearing Chris’ introduction, Lin Li knew that the various perfect facilities in it were also incomparable to the Seventh Sky Castle’s. However, while its power system could not compare to the Seventh Sky Castle’s, its facilities and advantage of being completely suitable for being controlled by the human mages was enough to close the gap between the two.
However, the canopy of the city was not activated in the Sky Garden, perhaps because they wanted to save power. The environment in the city was the same as the outside environment at high alt.i.tude, but the extremely low air pressure and the rampant magical turbulences were lethal to mages below the level of Archmage.
Hence, along the way with Chris, Lin Li saw that the streets of the Sky Garden were rather empty and deserted. He could occasionally see a few mages hurrying here and there. Of course, the mages were at least level-15 and above. Mages lower than that would basically be courting death by staying there.
While introducing the Sky Garden to Lin Li patiently, Chris led Lin Li to the central area of the Sky Garden where a tower with a somewhat strange shape was erected. It was eye-catching, and even looked somewhat awkward compared to the architectural style of the surrounding environment.
The tower was constructed with materials that Lin Li had never seen before. They were not magical metals or special cement. Instead, they seemed like wood, and there were wood patterns which seemed to have contained some Laws, forming a natural mageweath with terrifying power.
“This Central Tower was built by Geresco using half of the Tree of Eternity. Hence, it’s known as the Eternal Tower. Although it has already lost its life, the power it contains is still incomparable to any material.” Central Tower could tell that there was some doubt in Lin Li’s eyes. Hence, he smiled and revealed the answer before Lin Li asked.
Upon hearing his answer, Lin Li secretly wiped his sweat and thought to himself that Geresco really could think of anything—he actually thought of using half of the Tree of Eternity to build a tower. He could imagine that the mages in the tower would probably be able to experience an increase in strength that would be greater than the effects of meditation, without even having to do anything.
Lin Li also understood the reason for the strange shape of the tower. The branches that extended out from the top of the tower were obviously the st.u.r.dy branches that were left over from the half of the Tree of Eternity. Now, there were windows in the branches which had obviously been transformed into multipurpose rooms.
At this moment, the square in front of the tower was no longer as deserted as the streets, and there were numerous mages who were walking towards it from all directions. Some walked straight into the tower, while some who were smarter walked over to greet Chris. Of course, they made various speculations about Lin Li who appeared beside Chris when they returned.
After Chris responded to the few mages who greeted him, he brought Lin Li to the Eternal Tower.
The Eternal Tower covered a large area, and the hall that they entered after pa.s.sing through the gate was like a s.p.a.cious square. The rooms on both sides of the hall were rather roomy too. The mages who were there were either chatting in the hall, or gathering in groups for discussions in the side halls.
Usually, those who held discussions in the side halls did not want to be disturbed. Hence, most mages wouldn’t enter the halls out of courtesy, unless they knew the people inside.
After walking into the hall with Lin Li, Chris only stopped for a while before leading Lin Li to another side hall. Upon seeing the people there, Lin Li immediately understood what Chris was thinking. The two people who were speaking were Aldwin, the President of the Alanna Guild of Magic, and Macklin, who had advanced to the Legendary-realm.
Lin Li wasn’t surprised to see the two of them. As the President of the Guild of Magic, Aldwin was definitely a councilor as well. On the other hand, Macklin had successfully stepped into the Legendary-realm when exploring Osric’s mausoleum. With the contribution that he had made to the Supreme Council during the exploration, it was only logical that he would become a councilor. Besides, the two of them were probably not ordinary councilors. At least, Aldwin was definitely qualified to become a High Councilor.
Seeing that Arbitrator Chris was leading Lin Li into the side hall, Aldwin and Macklin who were chatting were stunned, but quickly reacted and greeted Chris.
“Yes,” Chris answered. He nodded in response to their greetings. He turned around and smilingly said to Lin Li, “You guys are considered acquaintances, so go ahead and talk here for a while. I have some things to handle, so I won’t accompany you further.”
Before Lin Li could respond to Chris’ words, Aldwin and Macklin got a great shock. It turned out that Arbitrator Chris had specially brought Lin Li there because he was afraid that Lin Li would be bored after he left!
An arbitrator was the most authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, yet Chris valued Lin Li to the extent that he cared about his feelings! No one else in the Supreme Council would receive such treatment, not even the councilors Andoine and Rosen.
After sending the arbitrator Chris away, Lin Li, Aldwin, and Macklin returned to their seats in the side hall. Lin Li saw that the two of them still didn’t seem to have recovered from their shock. Hence, he smilingly said, “Masters, it’s been some time since we met during the last cooperation.”
“Oh, yes, it’s been quite a few days,” Macklin subconsciously answered before recovering from the shock abruptly. He frantically asked, “Lin Li, why did you come over together with Arbitrator Chris?”
“Didn’t they say that the Supreme Council is calling for a regular meeting? I’ve never been to the Sky Garden before, so Arbitrator Chris brought me here,” Lin Li explained simply. He did not go into detail about the matter of Chris looking for him at the Tower of Dusk.
However, even if Lin Li didn’t go into detail, Aldwin and Macklin were not fools, and they could somewhat guess something. Since Chris was the one who brought Lin Li there, he had to have gone to look for Lin Li previously. Lin Li had already mentioned the regular Supreme Council meeting. Hence, there was no need for them to guess at all. He was definitely at least a councilor.
“Felic, now that I think about it, it’s only been a short period of time since you joined the magic trials. I didn’t expect you to have already stepped into the next realm. Compared to you, I really feel like I’ve lived my life in vain.” Aldwin initially did not believe it when he heard the rumors of Lin Li entering the Sanctuary-realm. He refused to believe such an exaggerated matter of a mage entering the Sanctuary-realm in his twenties, even though he was extremely optimistic about his magical talent.
However, after seeing Arbitrator Chris’ att.i.tude towards Lin Li and sensing Lin Li’s aura that was similar to Chris’, Aldwin finally had an answer. That answer made him feel shocked and a little dejected, but he was mostly genuinely impressed with Lin Li’s talent.
Macklin had only entered the Legendary-realm when exploring Osric’s mausoleum. Although it had been a while since then, that amount of time was still not enough for a breakthrough for ordinary people. Hence, he was only at the peak of level-20.
Macklin didn’t sense the Sanctuary-level aura of Lin Li’s body that clearly; hence, Aldwin’s words made him feel a little puzzled. He asked, “President, what did you say? He made it through the threshold? Hasn’t this kid Felic entered the Legendary-realm a long time ago already?”
“What’s after the Legendary-realm?” Aldwin asked, shaking his head with a bitter smile. It had been many years since he entered the Legendary-realm, but the Sanctuary-realm still seemed ethereal. He had no idea if he would have the chance to enter it in his lifetime. He felt that Lin Li wasn’t human at all. Even the High Elves who claimed to be the most intelligent and outstanding race would not advance at such a rapid speed.
“Uh… Above the Legendary-realm? Sanctuary-realm? No way, Felic, did you really step into the Sanctuary-realm!?” Macklin had only stepped into the Legendary-realm for a short period of time, and perhaps had yet to experience the difficulty of ascending in the Legendary-realm. Hence, he wasn’t as emotional as Aldwin.
Lin Li, Aldwin, and Macklin were having a casual chat in the side hall. Although the number of people entering the Eternal Tower increased, no one entered to disturb them. However, that didn’t last for too long, as two middle-aged mages walked in not long after, each with a young mage.
The two young mages were Lin Li’s acquaintances. They were Mason and Orrin who were his roommates during the magic trials in Alanna. After hearing Aldwin’s introduction, Lin Li learned that one of the two middle-aged mages was level-19 Archmage Joey who was the President of Chevan City’s Guild of Magic and Mason’s teacher. The other was Hahnar who was the President of Rotterdam Guild of Magic and Orrin’s teacher.
Joey and Hahnar were rather puzzled when they first saw Aldwin chatting merrily with a young man from outside. However, after hearing Aldwin introduce Lin Li as the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, the two of them immediately got rid of their doubts and began chatting with Lin Li enthusiastically.
Although Mason and Orrin had already found Lin Li’s appearance familiar before they entered, they were somewhat unsure for a moment when they saw Lin Li’s relaxed demeanor as he was chatting with the President of the Alanna Guild of Magic. However, after they entered with their teachers and saw Lin Li, they were already certain that Lin Li was indeed their former roommate. However, since their teachers were right beside them, they couldn’t go forward to say anything.
The two of them could only stand beside their own teachers, whom they had always been in awe of, and watch them chat with their former roommate. Mason wanted to say something, but he dared not do so. He simply scratched his ear and touched his chin. If it weren’t for the fact that his teacher was right beside him, he probably would have gone forward to grab Lin Li immediately and chat with him incessantly. On the other hand, Orrin still behaved indifferently and coldly. He remained still while standing beside his teacher, but when he looked at Lin Li, there was still a bit of envy in his eyes.
After chatting with the two Presidents, Lin Li saw Mason standing behind President Joey, opening and closing his mouth like he was saying something. Besides, he was also secretly reaching his hand out of the hall. Lin Li was also a young man, so he naturally knew what Mason meant. Hence, he bade farewell to Aldwin and the rest, and said that he was going to go catch up with the two of them.
However, Aldwin did not let Lin Li leave, and he simply said that he was going to take Joey and Hahnar out and introduce them to a few of the councilors. Hence, the four of them left the side hall, leaving the three young men behind.
With an exaggerated sigh of relief, Mason watched as his teacher left before finding a seat and sitting down. While pounding his thigh, he said to Orrin, “Hey, you’ve been standing for a long time. Aren’t you tired? I’m exhausted from walking and standing throughout the journey.”
“Idiot,” Orrin chastised. It was his usual remark at Mason, but he nonetheless took a seat on a chair near him.
Mason had long gotten used to Orrin’s remarks. He simply rolled his eyes, and said to Lin Li, “Felic, I heard that you’ve made the Breezy Plains become rather lively. It seems that there were rumors about you entering the Legendary-realm. Is that true? Are you coming here to become a councilor too?”
Orrin didn’t eagerly ask a bunch of questions like Mason did, but after hearing Mason’s questions, he acted as if he was listening. Clearly, he wanted to ask those questions as well, but his personality prevented him from doing so.
“Legendary-realm? I guess. This time, I did come over here to attend the regular meeting as a councilor.” Lin Li did not hide the matter of him being a councilor. As for the issue regarding power, Mason would definitely take it as a joke if he were to tell them that he had already entered the Sanctuary-realm. Mason might even guffaw continuously.
Although Lin Li merely asked that question, Mason and Orrin were filled with envy. However, as his former roommates, they were naturally happy for him too.
“Ah, a councilor of the Supreme Council. My teacher has recently become one too. You guys, if I had been able to find a place to become a President, do you think I’d have been able to become a councilor now as well? If that was really the case, I’d be a councilor too, and Teacher wouldn’t scold me all the time anymore, would he? Haha!” Mason’s words revealed his fondness for fantasizing. He stared at the roof and seemed to have started daydreaming.
“Idiot, you’re daydreaming again. Given your abilities, you would be reduced to ashes now,” Orrin said, dampening Mason’s spirits like a wet blanket and shattering his dreams.
“You… I can at least think about it.” Mason sounded rather dejected, but he soon got excited again. He pulled Lin Li and asked about the matters regarding the Breezy Plains.
Actually, since the trial, Mason’s and Orrin’s strength had been increasing rather quickly. During the trial, Mason was only a level-9 Magic Shooter[1], but now he had already become a level-16 Archmage, while Orrin was a level-17 Archmage. That speed would definitely allow them to be worthy of being called magical geniuses in Anril.
[1] Pretty sure Magic Shooters started somewhere from levels 12-14, but that’s what was written.