"Have you looked into this matter properly?"
Leilin asked Xiling.
"According to intelligence from several of my close contacts, the one planning to target us at the joint conference this time is Shigeli of the 'Eight-Legged Spider'!" Xiling ran her fingers through her hair, exposing her fair neck, with the hint of two full curves visible beneath.
"Shigeli? That spider man?" Leilin was completely unmoved by Xiling's unconscious seduction. The Crystal Mask that Xiling practiced had this very characteristic—it could subtly bewitch the minds of those around a Wizard without their noticing.
But this influence was minimal against semi-elementalized Wizards, and as for Leilin? That went without saying.
"He's only a semi-elementalized Wizard. You should be able to handle him with some help, right?"
Leilin looked at Xiling.
"If it were just him! I could still hold my own by calling in a few favors my mentor left behind, but..."
A shadow of gloom passed between Xiling's brows. "Behind that Shigeli, it seems there's another force quietly backing him..."
"I see!" Leilin nodded.
"Of course! My Lord, all you need to do this time is maintain our Alliance of Nature's current standing. Xiling asks for nothing else!" It seemed she was afraid Leilin might withdraw halfway, so she quickly added this assurance.
"Don't worry! Since I've agreed to this, I have that much honor at least!"
Leilin naturally wouldn't spare a single thought for any so-called mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes.
The Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor's bloodline imprint had already been completed. All he needed was for his body to fully adapt to the glacial radiation, and he could use ice transformation to recover his Rank 2 Warlock strength!
A Rank 2 Warlock—especially one like Leilin who possessed an ancient and powerful bloodline—would absolutely far surpass an ordinary Rank 2 Wizard in strength!
No matter what, the Alliance of Nature shouldn't be enough to trigger the greed of a Rank 2 Wizard, right?
"Chip! How much longer until my body fully adapts to the glacial radiation?"
Leilin closed his eyes and silently asked in his mind.
"Beep! Based on the existing primary model, estimated full adaptation time: 56 hours and 34 minutes!"
The Chip quickly provided its conclusion.
"So that's two days from now—right after the joint conference ends?" Leilin murmured, then instinctively glanced at his status bar.
"Leilin Farell | Warlock, Rank 2 | Bloodline: Komoin Giant Serpent | Strength: 21.1 | Agility: 14.4 | Constitution: 27.9 | Spirit: 79.9 (104.3) | Mana: 79 (Mana is synchronously determined by Spiritual Power)"
After so many days of effort and various potion treatments, he had only managed to release a small portion of his bound spiritual power, nowhere near breaking through the Rank 1 Wizard threshold.
This only strengthened Leilin's resolve to use the ice transformation ability. Otherwise, who knew how long it would take him to recover his Rank 2 strength!
"After repairing my Sea of Consciousness and breaking free from emotional influence, my combat power should actually exceed my peak state on the South Coast..." Leilin calculated endlessly in his mind.
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
Previously, inside the Glacial Cavern, the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor's breath crystals and the "contributions" of numerous Ice Jade Scorpions had allowed Leilin to completely eliminate the emotional influence of his bloodline.
Though in his view, this elimination was still incomplete. Perhaps when he advanced to higher-rank Wizards in the future, the rage and chaotic emotions hidden in his bloodline and genes might erupt once more.
But for now, through the Chip's scans, Leilin could at least be certain that during the Rank 2 and even Rank 3 Warlock stages, bloodline emotions would no longer affect him.
And once this occupational hazard was eliminated, he would possess all the advantages of an ancient bloodline Warlock while having none of the bloodline's drawbacks. Just how terrifying would his power become?
When strength and wisdom joined together, nothing could stand in a Warlock's path toward truth.
"My Lord, what are you thinking about?"
Xiling leaned against him.
"Nothing!" Leilin pulled Xiling into his embrace, one hand sliding along her waist and slipping inside.
"My... my Lord, not here—outside, there are still people out there!"
Xiling flushed crimson, pushing at Leilin's hand.
Outside, Aobo and Ilya lowered their heads in embarrassment. Whatever ambitions they might have harbored had been thoroughly extinguished after witnessing the occasional display of Leilin's overwhelming power.
...
The Nota Highlands. The ground was blanketed in white quartz sand, the surroundings desolate and barren.
Under normal circumstances, a fair number of dark creatures would gather here, but now, those creatures had all fled.
In the center of the Nota Highlands, a brilliant sphere of light over ten meters in diameter hung high in the air like a miniature sun, radiating brilliant light and heat.
Below the light sphere, a sparse gathering of Wizards—dressed in robes of various colors, with some even being distinctly non-human races—had assembled.
Even the radiation and energy fluctuations they unconsciously emitted, when so many Wizards gathered in one place, were enough to drive the dark beasts far away.