"What incredible amplification!" Reylin's face was filled with visible astonishment as he watched his data refresh once more — especially the dramatic changes in his physique, his spirituality, and his elementalization progress.
Progress for an official
But now, after his second bloodline leap, his average stats had been forcibly elevated to the level of a peak First-Cycle Wizard.
And the subsequent heart modification was constantly stimulating his body's latent potential, pushing it to evolve toward an even higher tier.
In just a few days, his modification level had increased by another 8%, and the resulting boosts to his other stats were nothing short of terrifying!
"If this is the case, then could I possibly..."
Reylin's mind raced through calculations, and soon a dangerous light flickered to life in his eyes.
That light was deep and pure, and Reylin's eyes, brimming with it, seemed as though they could absorb a person's very soul.
But in the very next instant, Reylin buried that light deep within the recesses of his gaze.
"The Filth Bird's feather solution!?"
Reylin refocused his attention on the grey liquid. The Chip's blue light periodically swept across the test tube, projecting streams of data before his eyes.
"Illusory Void Flowers!" Reylin turned his gaze to the three crystals on his workbench.
Inside each of the three small crystals, delicate white flowers — almost transparent and ethereal — were carefully preserved.
These were the primary ingredients for many ancient potions. They had once gone extinct on the South Coast, and it was unclear from which secret realm the
"Crystal Seal — release!" Reylin uttered several complex syllables, then lightly touched the surface of a crystal with his right index finger.
*Pop!* On the solid crystal's surface, ripples suddenly appeared, spreading outward like waves on water.
The ripples spread continuously, reaching even the interior of the crystal. *Whoosh!* Like liquid churning or steam evaporating, the solid crystal steadily dissolved into the air, until all that remained was a delicate white flower resting quietly on the workbench.
This was a specialized unsealing formula that Reylin had obtained from the Merit Exchange Hall. Attempting to break the seal with any other form of magic would certainly trigger the original crystal enchantment — at best destroying the materials contained within!
Reylin carefully examined this material, one that was exceedingly rare even in ancient times.
The Phantom Void Flower was remarkably tiny — no larger than a quail's egg. Delicate, thread-like veins, characteristic of plant life, continuously showed through its semi-transparent surface.
The moment the Phantom Void Void Flower came into contact with air, it had begun to dissolve on its own!
"Truly a delicate thing. No wonder it went extinct on the South Coast…"
Reylin murmured, then, well prepared, picked up a pair of white tweezers and swiftly plucked the Phantom Void Flower, dropping it into a beaker filled with blue ice flakes beside him.
"The properties of the Phantom Void Flower are exceedingly mysterious — through careful blending, it can be converted into forty-three different components! That is precisely why it serves as a core ingredient shared by so many ancient potions…"
Reylin murmured to himself. Watching the white flower steadily dissolve inside the beaker, the corners of his lips curled into a smile…
"Headquarters Inspector? What kind of position is that?"
Reylin looked at Xishan before him with some surprise. Having spent the entire night busy in the laboratory, he had only just come out and was preparing to get some well-deserved rest when he ran into Wizard Xishan.
Xishan wore a broad smile, and even the third vertical eye between his brows had retracted its eerie glow, taking on a somewhat gentler appearance.
"This is a position that Elder Leonor personally drafted for you, Reylin!" Xishan explained with a laugh.
"As you know, during wartime, according to the laws of our Four Seasons Garden, the elders have the authority to establish entirely new positions… And this Headquarters Inspector position was specifically approved by Lord Leonor for you, Reylin. In theory, within the Ganges Secret Realm, whether at headquarters, at any of the branch offices, or among the war zone wizards — all of them fall under your supervision…"
"Is that so?" Reylin remained skeptical.
This was obviously a trouble-making job. There was no clear authority, only a vague supervisory power. It seemed like it could oversee everything, but in reality, it couldn't manage anything at all — and it was extremely easy to offend people with it.
After all, the wizards in charge of each branch office and war zone were all local powers unto themselves. Why would they listen to some inspector from central command telling them what to do?
This Leonor had clearly dumped a pile of headaches right on his shoulders!
"Also… before I came here, Lord Leonor had a personal request!" After handing Reylin the appointment letter for the Headquarters Inspector position, Xishan brought up another matter.
"A personal request? What is it?"
Reylin grew somewhat wary. A second-tier wizard was not someone he could contend with just yet.
However, even if he couldn't defeat such an opponent in a direct confrontation, he now had a fair chance of escaping. So he wasn't particularly fearful.
"Lord Leonor wishes to find a time to have a long talk with you! Of course! This is a personal matter, not an order!"
Seeing that Reylin had been somewhat uneasy at first but quickly composed himself, a flash of surprise flickered through Xishan's eyes before he quickly suppressed it and conveyed Leonor's words.
"A long talk?!" Reylin's heart stirred.
It seemed that his series of high-profile moves recently had finally caught the attention of this second-tier Wizard.
However, this had been part of his plan all along, so Reylin nodded: "Of course! It would be my honor to have a long talk with Lord Leonor..."
"Wonderful! I'll arrange the time right away!" Leonor was a major figure stationed in the Ganges Secret Realm by the entire Four Seasons Garden, handling countless matters every day. The last time Reylin had been able to see him was only because he had rendered great merit and returned to report on his mission.
And this time it was a private meeting, with many taboos and formalities to observe. But naturally, Reylin didn't need to worry about any of that — Xishan would arrange the time properly, and when the moment came, all Reylin had to do was go see Leonor as soon as he received Xishan's summons.
"Thank you!" Reylin nodded.
"No problem! No problem!" A hint of a smile appeared on Xishan's face as he swiftly departed.
Watching Xishan's figure grow smaller and smaller in his sight until it finally disappeared entirely, the expression on Reylin's face grew increasingly grave.
In the end, it condensed into a mass of dark clouds, utterly somber.
This second-tier Wizard, Leonor, loomed before him like an enormous mountain.
"It's about to begin..." Reylin murmured softly to himself...
Inside the Merit Exchange Hall.
"Hello! Sir! What would you like to exchange?"
From behind a transparent glass window, a clerk addressed Reylin.
Through the glass, one could see racks filled with all manner of rare materials and advanced academic knowledge, along with many powerful Magical Items and single-use scrolls, as well as secret techniques exclusive to Wizards!
So-called Wizard secret techniques referred to certain methods and tricks for casting spells.
These special techniques were generally only available for formal Wizards to learn, and once successfully mastered, they could enhance the power of a particular spell, or enable the casting of an exceptionally devastating spell.
In Reylin's view, this was second only to a high-tier Meditation Method in terms of value.
Even if a certain Wizard was rather behind in their spiritual elementalization, they could use this kind of secret technique to enhance the power of their spells — the effect was no worse than improving spiritual elementalization!
"A pity, but these things are all external crutches! Only one's own true strength matters most!"
Even though spiritual elementalization and secret techniques could amplify spell power, it still depended on the original base power of the spell!
A high foundation! Great amplification! That was what made a peak first-tier Wizard truly terrifying.
But once the foundation was lacking, no matter how high the amplification, it couldn't compare to those with high base spell power whose elementalization wasn't particularly advanced.
After all, among all the various amplification techniques, the highest only specialized in boosting a single spell's power by nearly 40%!
And the highest amplification from spiritual elementalization was only around 90%!
No matter what kind of amplification, Reylin had yet to see a single case that reached or exceeded 100%! It was as though there was an invisible threshold here that blocked the footsteps of most Wizards!
"I am the Headquarters Inspector! I believe there are problems with the transactions conducted here!"
Reylin took out the appointment letter that had only just reached his hands and waved it in front of the clerk. The contents on it, along with the shimmering second-tier Wizard's distinctive spell glow, made the clerk's expression turn rather bitter.
"Sir…"
The clerk didn't know how to respond. After all, this so-called Headquarters Inspector position was truly a peculiar one — it had authority over practically everything, yet seemingly lacked the enforcement power to match.
While doing his best to stall Reylin, the clerk discreetly pressed a red button hidden beneath his desk.
Reylin noticed this little move but simply smiled and paid it no mind.
"Sir! Our exchange process here fully complies with the principles of fairness and equality, absolutely no—"
While the clerk was still frantically explaining to Reylin, a semi-transparent phantom suddenly appeared before him.
"I am Bill! The person in charge of the Merit Exchange Point! What business do you have here, the newly appointed Headquarters Inspector, Lord Reylin!"
The phantom bore the face of a male Wizard who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, with a monocle perched over one eye, hair combed immaculately, and wearing a dark crimson formal coat without a single crease to be found.
This image reminded Reylin of an appraiser from his previous life.
Moreover, the fact that he had learned Reylin's identity so quickly demonstrated this person named Bill's exceptional intelligence-gathering capabilities and powerful network of connections.
"I suspect there are problems with your exchange accounts and access permissions here, and need to investigate..." Reylin said without any courtesy.
He had a deep understanding of the principle that unused authority becomes worthless once its opportunity passes.
This was especially true when rebellion had already been decided upon.