For Leilin, collecting high-grade Meditation Methods was meant to supplement the Chip's database and deduce what lay beyond the Eye of Kemosn and the Holy Light Candle Fire.
Under the Chip's powerful computing capacity, even incomplete records were no concern. As for the difficulty of advancement, that wasn't a problem either—Leilin wasn't going to cultivate any of them himself.
"Alright! I've already seen your sincerity!"
Under Xiling's somewhat stunned gaze, Leilin tossed the pale golden leaf inscribed with the Crystal Mask directly back to her and said calmly, "I'd like to enter the Frigid Ice Caverns alone for now…"
"My Lord! The terrain of the Frigid Ice Caverns is extremely complex. Even with a map, shouldn't you let Aobo or Ilya, or Xiling personally guide you?"
Xiling's face tightened with urgency—this was a perfect opportunity to build a closer relationship with Leilin, and she didn't want to miss it.
"No need!"
Leilin refused directly.
He had many secrets that weren't convenient to reveal before others. Bringing people along would only make it harder to act freely. Moreover, according to the Chip's analysis, the quality of an Ice Jade Scorpion's breath improved the higher the scorpion's rank. Leilin intended to push deep into the Ice Jade Scorpion's nest, hoping to find higher-ranked specimens of the creature.
For a dangerous beast where even an ordinary adult possessed the strength of a full Wizard, two Third-rank Apprentices would simply be sending themselves to their deaths.
Even if Xiling went, she'd be hard-pressed to survive.
"Then please, my Lord, do notify me when you come out. Xiling still hasn't had the chance to take you to see our academy…"
Xiling bit her lip and finally extended the invitation.
"I will!" Seeing her hesitation, Leilin chuckled inwardly and agreed outright.
Following that, Leilin followed Xiling to the entrance of the Frigid Ice Caverns.
"This place is jointly guarded by six factions—the Alliance of Nature, Eight-claw Spider, Verdant Vine, and others—managed collectively by a Council of Elders. Previously, our Alliance of Nature held considerable sway within the Council, but unfortunately, since my mentor passed away, our voice has grown ever smaller, even being relegated to the last seat…"
Xiling led Leilin through the enormous structure, occasionally explaining the Alliance of Nature's current plight.
Along the way, Leilin could see Wizards and even Apprentices wearing various wizard robes and bearing different insignia coming and going.
"This place is called the Frigid Ice Fortress, built and defended jointly by our six academies. Many academies have also established specialized laboratories here to analyze the various materials obtained from the Frigid Ice Caverns… Although our Alliance of Nature's influence is minimal now, getting you inside is still no problem."
As she spoke, Xiling led Leilin to the base of the fortress.
In the center of the artificially excavated underground cavern, Leilin beheld a massive white fissure.
Bitterly cold winds poured continuously from the fissure, immediately dropping the cavern's temperature by more than ten degrees. White mist constantly condensed into frost and snow, blanketing the entire crevice in a thick layer.
"The Frigid Ice Caverns are shrouded in this icy wind year-round. The accompanying cold-energy attacks and ice blades are troublesome even for us full Wizards. After years of exploration, we discovered that only this fissure has the weakest attack intensity, making it the most suitable entry point. Everywhere else either leads to dead ends or requires prolonged exposure to the cold—which even a Second-level Wizard might not be able to withstand…"
"Mm!" Leilin nodded.
Outside the Frigid Ice Caverns there were also massive surface fissures, but judging by how the Wizards here completely ignored them, those entrances were clearly death traps. Only this one was the safest route.
"If it isn't Wizard Xiling? Planning to enter the Frigid Ice Caverns for exploration?"
At that moment, a Wizard guarding the entrance approached and greeted Xiling with a smile, a hint of eagerness in his eyes.
Leilin glanced at this Wizard's white beard that trailed all the way to the ground and silently rolled his eyes.
"No! I'm here to escort one of our academy's honorary professors inside!" Xiling replied with a smile.
"Honorary professor? Him!"
The old man started in surprise, then eyed Leilin—the newly arrived Wizard—with suspicious scrutiny.
Given Xiling's abilities, she couldn't recruit particularly powerful Wizards, but some full Wizards who were quite taken with her were willing to join the Alliance of Nature to be near the beauty. Unfortunately, all of them had been rejected by Xiling.
From her veiled hints, she hoped to find a Wizard with at least half-elementalization strength to join. But clearly, among her admirers, only Siegfried met that requirement—and he would never agree.
"Hello there, young Wizard! The name's Old Mader!" The elderly Wizard regarded Leilin with an appraising gaze, though his manner was quite polite.
"I am Leilin. A pleasure to meet you!" Leilin smiled reservedly.
Moreover, because of his habit of constantly compressing his Spiritual Power, he effectively concealed his aura and energy fluctuations, preventing Old Mader from discerning his true strength.
But even so, it was enough to draw Old Mader's attention and wariness—the unknown was often dangerous and terrifying, especially for Wizards.
"Since he's your academy's honorary professor, then of course he may enter!"