Splash!
Clear, crystal-like spring water flowed endlessly from a white pitcher.
Beneath the white pitcher stood a beautiful half-nude marble statue. The statue depicted an elegant long-haired woman, her eyes carrying a languid, dreamy expression. One hand tugged at the hem of her skirt while the other held the white pitcher aloft, pouring water downward.
The spring water gathered below, forming a small pond. Colorful pebbles and tiny fish reflected shifting patterns of light across its surface.
Beside the pond sat a small flowerbed, bursting with all manner of unknown blossoms. The various floral fragrances blended together without clashing, creating a unique aroma that was wonderfully refreshing and invigorating.
Leilin wandered casually through the garden before heading back into the villa.
This was a villa he had just rented for a year, located at No. 56 Great Whale Avenue on the third level of Nevernight City.
Between the various levels of Nevernight City, extremely strict rules governed access.
The third level and above were reserved exclusively for official Wizards to reside, gather, and trade. Aside from them, only specially designated servants were permitted to pass through.
The villa occupied a generous plot of land, and its defensive magical arrays were quite formidable. In Leilin's estimation, ordinary Third-rank Apprentices wouldn't dream of getting inside. Even an official
However, Leilin still planned to modify several spots and add a few more layers of defensive formations.
He had never been fully trusting of Nevernight City's arrays.
Around Leilin's villa, several other Wizards also resided. Just moments ago, a red-haired old man had waved at Leilin in greeting — he seemed like a decent enough person.
Click!
The sound of a brass key sliding into a lock echoed through the air, followed by the creak of a wooden door swinging open.
Leilin strolled through the villa with his hands clasped behind his back.
The entire villa had three floors — two above ground and one basement level.
The laboratory was fairly well-equipped, and the furniture and other furnishings were all brand new, making Leilin feel he was getting good value for his money.
The bedroom was on the second floor and came with an open-air balcony.
Leilin stepped onto the balcony and gazed out at the scenery in the distance.
The sun sank westward as the dark curtain of night gradually descended.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
Along the road, one orange lamp after another flickered to life in succession, stretching far into the distance.
Pinpoints of light converged together, eventually forming one enormous luminous mass.
Bright yet not blinding radiance filled every corner of Nevernight City.
"No wonder Trigones City is also called Nevernight City!" Leilin exclaimed with admiration.
Though he had seen such arrangements countless times in his previous life, the Wizard world was different. Powering all those lamps required staggering amounts of energy. Probably only the endless geothermal power supplied by volcanoes could barely meet the needs of an entire city.
Pop!
A lightbulb resembling an incandescent lamp flickered to life inside Leilin's room.
"All this energy is provided free of charge by the public utility center. They really do have deep pockets!"
Leilin shook his head and issued a command: "Chip, scan the entire villa and attempt to modify the defensive magical arrays!"
As Leilin spoke, a point of blue light flickered repeatedly within his eyes, glowing with a soft, shimmering radiance.
"Ding! Villa layout map has been recorded. No scrying-type magical traces detected!"
The Chip's response came swiftly.
"Per the host's request, modifying the villa's overall formations. Estimated post-modification power increase: 13%…"
The Chip then projected several points requiring modification directly before Leilin's eyes.
"Magical formations are extremely precise constructs. Once modified, even previously hidden features will be completely exposed…"
Leilin wore a confident smile as he began pulling materials from his waist pouch to modify the villa's magical arrays.
By the time he finished, it was already the middle of the night.
Leilin set up a layer of early-warning sigils outside his bedroom before finally half-collapsing onto the soft bed.
The recent weeks of constant奔波 — especially having to set up contingencies against pursuit from the Lilisite family — had left Leilin's mind in a state of considerable exhaustion.
Now that he had finally reached his destination, even the Lilisite family couldn't act openly within Nevernight City. Leilin felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and his mood lightened considerably.
"Come to think of it, ever since I left the Academy, all I have left is this little bit of stuff…"
Leilin opened his bundle and dumped everything onto the bed.
A silver metal ring, several flowers stored separately, and a miscellaneous assortment of materials and Magic Stones appeared before his eyes.
Leilin picked up the metal ring first.
This was his spoil of war — a replica of the Ring of Binding, seized from the elder's clone of the Lilisite family. Despite being a copy, this Magical Item had still reached a mid-tier rank. Had Leilin not recently upgraded his Falling Star Amulet, he might not have been able to break free of the Magical Item's restraint in time.
The Chip's scan confirmed that no hidden backdoors remained on the ring, so Leilin decided to use it himself for now, planning to have it modified or sold off later.
Since Leilin's advancement, the Chip had undergone a tremendous upgrade as well.
Many techniques that were previously undetectable at the apprentice level were now completely laid bare before him.
And that Lilisite family elder had only been at the peak of a first-level Wizard's strength — he couldn't hope to hide anything from Leilin.
"Also, I need to use these remaining materials as soon as possible. Too long a storage period will cause slight degradation to their medicinal properties…"
Leilin glanced at the other flowers and plants that had been preserved with freshness-preserving magical techniques.
These were his harvests from the Dylan Garden. He had been in too much of a hurry when picking them, so their quality had already been mediocre. Afterward, during his continuous flight, he had found no opportunity for deeper processing or maintenance. Now they all appeared somewhat dried and wilted.
A black notebook lay quietly to one side — the Serpent Scripture. Leilin still flipped through it from time to time.
Although the Chip had recorded every word, Leilin suspected that with the Crimson Grand Wizard's abilities, there might be additional secrets hidden within its pages.
Furthermore, the material used to craft the Serpent Scripture was remarkably unusual — its information storage capacity was astonishingly vast, sparking an irrepressible curiosity in Leilin.
The remainder consisted of the Falling Star Amulet hanging around his neck, a handful of Magic Stones, and other miscellaneous materials.
All of this, taken together, constituted Leilin's entire fortune.
"For a first-level Warlock to advance, both the Meditation Method and bloodline must be developed. And simply relying on one's own efforts is far too difficult — one absolutely needs resources to assist!"
The auxiliary materials required by advanced Meditation Methods were all exceedingly rare, and some existed only in ancient times, having long since gone extinct.
Leilin counted his assets and realized he could at most live comfortably in Nevernight City. Expecting to exchange these for sufficient resources to advance to a second-level Warlock was nothing short of a pipe dream.
He instinctively glanced at his status window.
"Leilin Farell — Warlock, First Level Bloodline: Giant Demonic Serpent Strength: 7.1 Agility: 6.7 Constitution: 8.5 Spirit: 28.4 Mana: 28 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization) Spiritual Elementization Progress: 1% Condition: Healthy"
Leilin never neglected his daily practice of the advanced Meditation Method. The Demonic Serpent Pupil was, after all, a Warlock-specific Meditation Method perfectly matched to his bloodline, and Leilin could feel his Spiritual Power steadily increasing day by day at a firm, unwavering pace.
The spiritual elementization progress, however, was far less satisfying.
"According to the Meditation Method's records, elementization becomes increasingly difficult at higher stages. The 50% semi-elementization threshold and the 80% requirement for advancing to second-level Wizard are two major bottlenecks — who knows how many Wizards have been stuck at these gates, unable to advance!"
Leilin's expression grew somewhat grave. "Right now, my Spiritual Power has the advanced Meditation Method, and my bloodline is exceptionally pure — these two aspects don't need to be worried about for the time being. The only thing dragging down my progress is the spiritual elementization!"
Breakthroughs in the advanced Meditation Method would directly drive a Wizard's advancement. Leilin currently possessed three layers of the Demonic Serpent Pupil, and his Spiritual Power progressed smoothly.
As for the bloodline, he had transplanted the purified bloodline of an ancient creature — the Giant Demonic Serpent. This being could reach the fourth-level Dawn Star Wizard stage upon maturity.
Leilin was currently only a first-level Warlock. In terms of bloodline concentration, he could practically rival a Giant Demonic Serpent hatchling. Every day he could feel the power of the bloodline continuously influencing his body. By his estimation, even his second Bloodline Leap would arrive quite soon.
Leilin was thoroughly satisfied with both of these aspects. The only thing holding him back was spiritual elementization.
The elementization process seemed to be related to the Wizard's innate soul talent, and Leilin himself was only rated third-class — average among Wizards.
The higher one's soul talent, the faster the elementization progress would naturally be. Someone like Leilin could only grind through it slowly over time.
With a wizard family's bounty still hanging over his head, Leilin had no desire to wait that long.
Aside from slowly grinding through time, certain rare materials could accelerate the spiritual elementization process.
But Leilin looked at the materials spread across his bed.
"The Serpent Scripture absolutely cannot be sold! The Falling Star Amulet and the Ring of Binding are both quite useful, and I'm currently short on Magical Items, so those are off the table as well."
"My only options are these plant materials and the Magic Stones I've accumulated!"
Leilin felt a twinge of worry.
These items would fetch only a tiny amount of resources he could actually use — a mere drop in the bucket against his current predicament.
He now found himself desperately longing for the Dylan Garden.
That had been a secret realm left behind by a fourth-level Wizard. Its annual output alone could reach the staggering sum of a million Magic Stones! With it, Leilin would have had no shortage of resources before reaching the second-level Warlock stage.
But tragically, the Dylan Garden had self-destructed under the Crimson Grand Wizard's arrangements.
"Perhaps he didn't want his successor to receive too much — afraid it would kill their drive to strive forward," Leilin speculated privately.