Faint wisps of golden light emanated from the corpses of the dead Bloodthirsty Loaches, only to be devoured by other Bloodthirsty Loaches that had previously failed to feed on the blood. This cycle repeated over and over — each loach dying in turn as the next consumed its essence.
Leilin watched this scene with an expressionless face. After three full rounds, the Bloodthirsty Loaches that had absorbed the bloodline were finally able to survive for a period of time without dying immediately. Moreover, the golden bloodline appeared more restrained and unadorned.
"It looks like we can proceed…" A flash of joy appeared on Leilin's face.
As long as this step succeeded, there was hope for reactivating the Son of the Sun bloodline.
"Maintain this process, and confirm daily that there are no fewer than twenty Bloodthirsty Loaches in the cultivation pool!" Leilin issued his command to the array spirit in the laboratory.
After watching for a while longer and knowing this process would take a very long time, Leilin left the laboratory and returned to the castle.
Nowadays, he had many matters to attend to every day. Though somewhat tedious, it was the best way to establish his authority.
Although the students and clan members who had previously been under the Morning Star Sorcerer's protection all wished for Leilin to immediately set out and rescue their teacher and patriarch, they absolutely dared not show this openly.
Moreover, they dared not disobey any of Leilin's demands, doing everything with utmost diligence. When Leilin cleared out the entire stockpile of Astral Stones in one go, not a single word of complaint was uttered.
It had to be said — these warlocks were quite adept at knowing which way the wind blew.
Since that was the case, Leilin couldn't be bothered to nitpick over small matters with them. Besides, with his current strength, he still couldn't stand against Jupiter's Thunder and the Brilliant Moon
But the timing had to be his decision.
This was not only about seizing absolute power over the Ouroboros Ring, but also about avoiding the trap set by the mastermind behind the scenes. If three Morning Star Sorcerers could fall, one more Leilin wouldn't be a problem at all.
Leilin understood this perfectly. That was why, under the current circumstances, he didn't dare make a rash move.
"Your Grace, a female wizard claiming to be from Blue Mountain City has come to pay a visit. And also…"
Faisal bowed low, his face completely devoid of its former spirited bearing, showing only absolute humility. Ever since the day Leilin had emerged from seclusion, he had maintained this posture — even being the first to pledge his allegiance, which forced Leilin to place extra trust in him.
"And also what?" Seeing the confused look on Faisal's face, Leilin couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
"And also she said… she's here to build a Wizard Tower for Your Grace…" Blue Mountain City had previously been an enemy of the Ouroboros Ring. Now they were eagerly trying to curry favor with Leilin. Even though Faisal had lived for over six hundred years, he had rarely encountered such a thing, and he couldn't help but hesitate.
"In that case, I don't need to see her. Pick out a good location at headquarters for me — my Wizard Tower will stand there!"
This had already been agreed upon with the Blue Mountain King. This was merely fulfilling that agreement, so Leilin didn't think much of it and waved his hand to send Faisal away.
The reason he hadn't built the Wizard Tower at headquarters before was the fear of being conscripted for labor. But times had changed — now he was the one doing the conscripting, and no one would dare offend him. Naturally, Leilin wanted the Wizard Tower's site to be at headquarters.
"What's the matter?" Seeing Faisal standing frozen in place, his expression shifting between light and dark, Leilin asked calmly.
Though it was only a few simple words, they made Faisal's cold sweat pour down straight. The Leilin of today was no longer the marquis he had once subtly held some authority over — he was the Supreme Elder! The supreme leader of the entire Ouroboros Ring! A Morning Star Sorcerer!
Each title weighed on Faisal's heart like a mountain, and when all three were concentrated in a single person, he had no choice but to look up in awe.
"The thing is, Your Grace… actually, our family, as well as the Duze Family, the Aoke Family, and others, can all contribute funds toward Your Grace's Wizard Tower…"
Faisal gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
In his view, Leilin accepting gifts from outsiders was a very dangerous signal — it represented a loss of trust in the established bloodline aristocrats like themselves, something they absolutely could not accept.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel some resentment toward his allies. Although rescuing the elders was indeed very important, they shouldn't have acted so hastily. Now the consequences were showing.
Faisal couldn't help but envy the Blood Snake Family. As long as Furui was still around, Leilin's relationship with them was unbreakable. Recently, there had even been rumors that Leilin would have one of his children inherit the title of Blood Snake Marquis. This immediately made many bloodline families green with envy.
A Morning Star Sorcerer's bloodline! And from someone like Leilin, whose talent was extraordinary and whose bloodline concentration was surely incredibly pure — this was something many bloodline families wouldn't even dare dream of. But the Blood Snake Family had obtained it so easily.
It seemed that in the coming centuries, the Blood Snake Family would definitely rise to prominence. Of course, under the leadership of the Farell Family.
Thinking this, Faisal sighed softly to himself, while also trying hard to recall whether his own family had any female warlocks similar to Furui.
"Very well! Go negotiate with Blue Mountain City yourselves!"
Someone was rushing to hand him money, so naturally Leilin accepted without any hesitation. With so many families pooling their resources together, his Wizard Tower could be built faster and at a higher grade — why wouldn't he want that?
Watching Faisal retreat in a state of reverent terror, Leilin couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Trying to mend relations only now?" Such petty schemes couldn't possibly fool the crafty and cunning Leilin. But he had never intended to make any drastic moves against these families anyway, so this would have to do.
A peaceful life continued like this for several months.
During these months, the area around the Ouroboros Ring had remained quite peaceful. They had firmly seized control of several core territories, including the Phosphorus Marsh, and the allied forces were clearly exercising restraint as well. With both sides maintaining moderation, the region had fully returned to calm, as if the fires of war had been extinguished.
Only those Wizards with truly far-reaching vision could see the undercurrents hidden beneath the surface calm.
In the warlock city at the Ouroboros Ring's headquarters, a massive and imposing Wizard Tower had slowly risen into existence, radiating a sense of solemn majesty.
Large numbers of high-ranking warlocks and Wizards surrounded the newly erected tower structure and began the more detailed finishing work.
Every low-ranking warlock who passed by would bow slightly, casting gazes full of reverence toward the Wizard Tower.
This was their pride and joy — Morning Star Sorcerer Leilin Farell's Morning Star Wizard Tower!
"Your Grace! The main body of the Wizard Tower has been completed, and it is connected to the cores of all Wizard Towers at headquarters, granting it the highest level of authority!" Faisal spoke fawningly from the side, while Leilin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, observing his Wizard Tower with keen interest.
Compared to the Wizard Towers he had built before, this Morning Star-level one had consumed an absolutely terrifying amount of resources. The various expenditures could no longer be measured in Magic Stones. If not for the massive stockpile extorted from Blue Mountain King Sas and the generous contributions from the established bloodline families, this project might never have succeeded.
"How much longer will it take?"
Leilin watched the many Wizards floating around the tower like ants, their hands flashing with countless runes that sank into the tower's surface, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Among the construction crew was an acquaintance — the supervisor he had seen at the Blue Mountain auction. But Leilin had no intention of going up to greet him.
His status was different now. Even if he went over, there would be nothing to say.
"The main body is actually the easiest part to construct — as long as materials are sufficient, it goes quickly. But the subsequent array installation, especially the energy pool construction and the tower spirit design, all require Your Grace to handle personally. The preliminary preparations alone will take at least ten years, and that's at the fastest pace…"
Faisal pulled out a white handkerchief to dab at his cold sweat before continuing.
"Exactly as I estimated!" The blue glow faded, and Leilin's eyes returned to their normal warm, dark hue.
"During this time, I plan to take a trip outside. All matters at headquarters will be jointly decided by you, Furui, and Pike. When you encounter difficult problems, let the majority rule!"
Though he could still use Mystic Seals to communicate, their effective range was very short, they were susceptible to interference and eavesdropping, and could even be used for tracking. Leilin generally preferred not to use them.
"Your Grace, you're leaving?" Faisal's eyes went wide, and he even forgot to wipe away his cold sweat.
"Yes. There's a high-level gathering of a blood organization, and Lord
There was nothing to hide, so Leilin admitted it openly. Besides, he also had some desire to travel across the Central Continent. Previously his strength had been insufficient, but now that he had advanced to Morning Star, he could go almost anywhere on the continent.
"Building good relations with other bloodline warlocks is indeed very important!"
Faisal strongly agreed on this point, though he added with some regret: "It's a pity that we can't involve ourselves in交往 between Morning Stars, nor can we provide any useful intelligence for you!"
After all, Faisal was merely a student. He knew that the Ouroboros Ring had good relations with those few organizations, and that was the extent of his knowledge. As for which Morning Star Sorcerers of the Ouroboros Ring were on good terms with which leaders — who were close confidants and who merely maintained a polite facade — he was completely in the dark. At a critical moment like this, he didn't dare offer rash suggestions, leaving Leilin to make his own judgment. Otherwise, if something went wrong, he couldn't bear the responsibility.
"Rest assured, I'll make my own judgment." Leilin nodded.