Gilbert paused for a moment after hearing Leylin's words, then burst into hearty laughter.
"I'll accept this gift of yours!"
"Thank you, Master!" Leylin bowed with a grateful expression.
"Hmm! Of course, I won't take your things for nothing — after all, an ancient Blood Condor egg is still extremely valuable!" Gilbert lowered his head in thought for a moment.
"Here's what we'll do — aren't you saving up contribution points to purchase a Construct Activation Scroll? I'll trade with you directly. A scroll sealed with a Tier 4 Wizard spell should be roughly equivalent to these items!"
Gilbert swept his hand across the table. The numerous bloodline items vanished, replaced by a gray scroll covered in archaic patterns.
"Thank you, Master!" Leylin took the scroll and expressed his gratitude once more, this time with considerably more sincerity.
"And..." Gilbert glanced at Leylin's ring, a smile crossing his face.
Leylin scratched his head with an embarrassed expression, realizing that the other party had noticed what he was hiding inside the spatial ring.
...
That night, Leylin lay in bed, gazing at the scroll in his hands with a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Those things traded for this Tier 4 scroll — that's about even. I didn't really lose out!"
After that, he glanced at the ring on his hand and flopped onto the bed, seemingly drifting off to sleep almost immediately.
In truth, however, he was sneering inwardly.
What Gilbert had discovered was actually something Leylin had deliberately let him find.
Inside his ring, only a single bloodline crystal and a few ancient remains were stored. Precisely because the quantity was small, Gilbert hadn't deemed them worth fussing over and had silently allowed Leylin to keep them.
But in reality, what he had handed over today didn't even amount to a tenth of his true haul!
Not to mention the finger bone left behind by the Tier 5 ancient Serpent Woman.
Such an item's allure was so great that even Leylin wasn't willing to bring it out — otherwise, getting past Gilbert would have been extremely difficult.
No matter what happened then, it would not be a situation he wished to see.
After all, Gilbert had been reasonably good to him, and he had no desire to fall out with his master or the Ouroboros Circle.
Greed was often the greatest factor behind division, and Leylin had no intention of using a finger bone to test the bond between master and disciple. He had simply avoided the issue — it was better for everyone that way.
Yes, the real haul, including things like the Serpent Woman's finger bone, was not on Leylin's person at all!
Therefore, no matter how thorough Gilbert's inspection might be, it would be completely useless!
"But even though the process was thrilling this time, I still managed to get what I wanted, and the other gains were quite good too…" Leylin lay on his bed, thinking, before quickly falling into a true deep sleep.
The Black Scale Ship was fast. It had taken Leylin and his companions over a month to travel from the region where the Ouroboros Circle was located to the City of Sin, but the return journey took only a little over ten days.
After arriving back at headquarters, Leylin briefly gathered with his teacher and a few senior apprentices, then used the excuse that the wizard tower in his territory was nearing completion to return to the Black Castle.
"Welcome back, my lord!" Pike stood before the black wizard tower, bowing respectfully to Leylin. His voice was as aged as ever, and combined with his youthful face, it produced a strangely unsettling dissonance.
"How is the construction of my wizard tower coming along?"
Leylin stepped forward and ran his hand along the black tower walls, examining the exquisite runes carved into the surface and the powerful energy fluctuations radiating faintly from within. A smile appeared on his face.
"The overall structure of the wizard tower has been entirely completed. Only a few core components and the most important task of activating the Tower Spirit remain! All of that is waiting for the master to handle!"
Pike's answer greatly satisfied Leylin. He had been very diligent in his work, and the task Leylin had assigned him last time had also gone excellently — the letter had been successfully delivered to Duke Gilbert, sparing Leylin from disaster.
"Excellent!" Leylin nodded.
"Have Slubi come to my laboratory another day. It's been quite a while since I taught him anything new!"
Of course, he knew that Pike was already old and no longer had any ambition of his own. All of his hopes were placed on his grandson, and no reward could compare to showing attention to Slubi.
"I'll thank the master on his behalf!"
Sure enough, upon hearing Leylin's words, a hint of excitement surfaced on Pike's face, and he bowed until his waist formed a ninety-degree angle.
"This time, upon my return, I've already obtained the Animation Scroll from my teacher. Pass down the order — prepare to resume work. I want to complete my wizard tower immediately!"
Leylin issued the command in a calm tone.
"Your will shall be carried out!" Pike replied. All construction preparations had been completed, and the remaining core materials were ready as well — they had simply been waiting for Leylin to return and take the lead.
Strolling through the interior of his wizard tower, Leylin carefully observed every corner.
The interior space of the wizard tower was vast. Leylin had built it entirely to the highest standards, and the facilities inside were thoroughly complete, appearing both exquisite and luxurious.