After the green flames had burned out, all that remained on the ground was a pile of white powder.
Leilin's expression was grave. He lightly tapped the mound of powder, and whoosh—the powder rose and coalesced into a woman's face: "Enemy!!! Enemy!!!"
"Poison infused with resentment, no wonder the bacteria were so stubborn!" Leilin shook his head and splashed a green potion onto the face.
Ssssss!!! The face rapidly dissolved into white vapor and finally vanished completely.
"Chip, scan!" Leilin issued the command.
"Ding! Scan complete. Detection result: all bacteria within the host body have been eliminated!"
Hearing the Chip's voice, a look of relief finally appeared on Leilin's face.
He stretched languidly, then touched the scars on his body. "They're a bit ugly, aren't they? I wonder what expression Ni Lan would make if she saw them?"
He rummaged through the large crate and found a potion, which he swallowed.
After more than ten minutes, the skin across his body rippled and churned, shedding layers of scar tissue and dead skin. His complexion grew noticeably smoother.
"As long as the bacteria are gone, treating surface scars is just a matter of a few potions!"
Leilin touched the scars, which had already faded considerably. "One more round should eliminate them entirely!"
Next, Leilin took the remaining bear paws from the unfortunate black bear and prepared himself a hearty feast as a reward.
After eating and drinking his fill, the sky outside had turned completely dark. Leilin lit a fire inside the cave and began to think about his route ahead.
"Doris has been dealt with, and there are no pursuers behind me. I can travel with much more peace of mind now!"
"The Academy's task isn't urgent—I have three whole years. I just wonder how things are at the Academy right now?" Though he could have gathered news about Black Bone Forest Academy at the market today, he still didn't dare.
After all, enemy agents could be lurking here too. If his identity were exposed, it would be walking straight into a trap.
He would only start gathering intelligence after crossing through most of the Duchy.
In any case, something this significant would surely be talked about at every wizard gathering point. As long as he was careful, he shouldn't give anything away.
"All of that can wait. The priority is to convert these potions into Magic Stones as quickly as possible—lugging all these crates along is far too inconvenient!"
Leilin patted the massive hardwood crate and recalled how the yellow horse had nearly collapsed under the weight just a few days ago. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"I can't go back to the Walker Family's market—after all, I just sold potions there."
He pulled up the map and located his position.
"From the Academy to East Forest Province, I'll pass through five other provinces. I can only sell off potions as I travel, and I should stop selling no later than Gesara Province."
On the map, Gesara Province sat right in the middle of the Duchy, still two full provinces away from East Forest Province.
If he kept selling potions all the way to East Forest Province, wouldn't that reveal both his route and his destination? Leilin wasn't foolish enough for that.
Even if selling along the way might not necessarily be noticed—given the sheer volume of daily transactions—he would rather be cautious than risk exposing his movements.
Gesara Province, located in the heart of the Marsh Duchy, was a crossroads in every direction. No one could possibly deduce his destination from there.
"Mm! There's still plenty of time. If necessary, I can take a longer route. Under no circumstances can I let my identity slip."
Leilin stared at the map marked with his route and wizard gathering points, sinking into deep thought…
Over two months passed.
On the main road of Gesara Province, a sturdy black horse galloped along carrying a wooden crate and a figure in black robes.
The person in black had a mane of fiery red hair and a handsome face.
It was, of course, Leilin in disguise.
Since his last encounter, Leilin had been periodically seeking out wizard markets and small-scale exchange gatherings as he traveled, selling off the potions he had crafted.
Because he never sold in large quantities at any one time, he hadn't attracted the greed of any powerful individuals. The occasional apprentice blinded by profit was no match for him at all. The most dangerous incident had been an ambush led by a Third-rank Apprentice, which Leilin had avoided using the Chip's detection capabilities.
Through these transactions, he had also acquired rare materials and a great deal of unique wizard knowledge, greatly enriching the Chip's database.
Furthermore, during these two months, he had finally finished having the Chip record all the Shadow System spell models he had purchased, and then destroyed every original copy of the books.
This had freed him from the burden of his excessive luggage.
Having sold off most of the potions and destroyed the bulky spell books, Leilin's remaining belongings could now fit into a single crate.
By his estimation, once the rest of the potions were sold off, he would be able to leave carrying nothing but a pack on his back.