"Let's go!"
"What, really fond of these creatures?"
Wade pointed at an elephant-like creature in front of Leilin. The beast was covered with a layer of white feathers, giving it a rather comical appearance.
"I've always been very interested in these kinds of exotic creatures!"
Leilin said with a smile, secretly deciding that he would come here from time to time in the future. Perhaps he could really find some creatures with ancient bloodlines!
"Come on!"
Wade led Leilin to two enormous Dragon-crowned Night Eagles.
The massive birds, resembling eagles, stood three men tall. Their bodies were covered in black feathers that looked like steel, while the area above their necks was red. On their heads sat beautiful bony protrusions, shaped like a crown.
Wade unfastened the copper collar around one of the Dragon-crowned Night Eagles' necks, then tossed a green iron token to Leilin.
"This is the key to controlling them. Come! Let's go!"
Leilin curiously climbed onto the night eagle's back. There were leather straps and seats there, clearly designed for riding.
Leilin settled into the leather seat and attached a wisp of Spiritual Power to the green iron token in his hand.
The moment his Spiritual Power touched the token, Leilin felt his consciousness connect with the Dragon Eagle beneath him.
The Dragon Eagle's intelligence was very simple — it could only accept commands like take off, land, accelerate, and turn. In terms of intellect, it was comparable to a seven- or eight-year-old child.
"Dragon-crowned Night Eagle. Strength: 5.2. Agility: 7.6. Constitution: 4.9. Special Abilities: None."
The data provided by the Chip was also very simple. It seemed these Dragon-crowned Night Eagles were only suitable for use as transportation.
"Let's go!"
The enormous night eagle spread its wings, sweeping up a massive dust tornado on the ground.
With two great eagle cries, the Dragon-crowned Night Eagle carrying Leilin and Wade took wing and soared into the sky.
Whoosh...
Intense wind pressure rushed against them, making Leilin feel as though he were in the middle of a storm.
"Hey! Leilin, how does it feel?"
Wade's voice came from the Dragon-crowned Night Eagle beside him.
Leilin narrowed his eyes contentedly, watching the scenery on both sides race past and the blue sky and white clouds that seemed within arm's reach.
For a full
"Not bad at all!"
"Haha... I used to regret not recording a flight-type spell, but ever since I got my baby, I haven't thought about it anymore. Maybe someday you can go meet it! I swear, you'll fall in love with it..."
Leilin chatted idly with Wade while observing the Dragon-crowned Night Eagle's flight path.
Ever since leaving the Sleepless City, the Dragon-crowned Night Eagle had been flying eastward.
As time gradually passed, a chill entered the air.
Finally, a mountain range with snow-capped peaks appeared in Leilin's view. The Dragon-crowned Night Eagle let out an excited cry and climbed higher and higher.
In a place blanketed with snow, the Dragon-crowned Night Eagle set down with Wade and Leilin aboard.
"Welcome to the headquarters of the
Wade led Leilin into a passageway along the side of the elevated platform.
Two people who looked like apprentices, who had apparently been waiting nearby, stepped forward to guide the Dragon-crowned Night Eagles to their designated spots and began bathing and feeding them.
The passageway was long. Unlike the snow-covered landscape outside, a warm breeze flowed steadily within.
At various junctions, Leilin could occasionally see several Wizards passing by with their apprentices, carrying notebooks and the like, looking rather hurried.
Wade led Leilin onward for nearly half an hour, passing through several checkpoints before finally reaching their destination.
"Here we are! This is my mentor — Master Leonor's workshop!"
Wade pulled open a massive black iron door and introduced the place to Leilin.
The space inside was vast, with numerous green vines clinging to the walls.
Ancient tree vines twisted and intertwined, forming shapes like desks and chairs. At several junctions, small white flowers bloomed, releasing a wonderful fragrance.
Behind a desk crafted from black vines, an elderly Wizard with white hair and gold-rimmed glasses smiled at Leilin.
"Welcome aboard!"
"Greetings, Master!" The energy fluctuations emanating from this old man completely surpassed the First-rank Wizard level. Leilin had only felt such fluctuations during the Blood Battle, from the headmaster of Black Bone Forest Academy and a few other Wizards.
Clearly, this old man was at least a powerful Second-rank Wizard.
"No need to be formal. Our Four Seasons Garden was originally established by the great Apothecary Amisande Nisaya for the purpose of sharing and researching potion formulas together. Freedom and equality are our guiding principles!"
The white-haired old man smiled kindly.
"It is my honor to join the Four Seasons Garden, Master!"
Leilin bowed once more.
"Good, then — are you ready to sign the contract?" Leonor asked.
"Forgive me, but may I review the terms of the contract first?" Leilin asked.
"Oh! Look at me — getting old, I keep forgetting things..." The old man chuckled and pointed at a piece of parchment on the desk.
Leilin picked it up and carefully studied the agreement on the parchment.
Just as he had expected, the contract offered by the Four Seasons Garden was very lenient.
It merely required Leilin to swear that he would not harm the interests of the Four Seasons Garden and to complete a certain number of tasks each year. In return, some of the Four Seasons Garden's knowledge and resource exchanges would be open to him. Other aspects were quite broad, with few restrictions — it didn't even prohibit Wizards from leaving later.
"As expected — just as Cleo said, due to certain historical reasons, the Four Seasons Garden's agreement is very lenient!"
Of course, Leilin was well aware that this was merely an outer-ring agreement. After signing it, he would be able to obtain some of the Four Seasons Garden's supplies, but he would not have access to anything deeper.
Unless he signed a more stringent contract — or even left a wisp of his soul here.
But Leilin merely wanted to join some large organization in the capacity of a guest member or adjunct professor, to gain convenient access to advanced knowledge and resources in the future. He planned to travel the world and seek out various Wizard ruins — there was no way he would bind his future to a single place.
Leilin paid special attention to the paper and its surroundings. The parchment was clean, with no additional clauses, and its borders bore no patterns or designs.
Some of the ancient script was bizarre and difficult to read, with some characters closely resembling decorative patterns. Many Wizards liked to exploit such traps, and Leilin had heard about a few incidents.
Although the Four Seasons Garden was unlikely to resort to such underhanded tactics, Leilin felt it was still better to be cautious.
"Chip! Scan! Check for traps or any other unknown contractual bindings!"
Leilin silently commanded.
"Task established. Initiating precision scan!" the Chip faithfully reported.
After several upgrades, the Chip had reached the point where it didn't give away any telltale signs even in front of a Second-rank Wizard.
"Ding! Scan complete. No anomalies found on the contract, and no hidden bindings detected!" The Chip's notification tone sounded.
"Very good terms — I have no reason to refuse!"
Only Leilin could hear the Chip's notification. From Wade's perspective, Leilin had merely glanced over the parchment a few times before speaking.
"Very well!" Leonor spoke several syllables.
Buzz!
The void rippled, and then a strange vertical eye materialized in midair.
The vertical eye was entirely pitch-black, with only its pupil emitting a scarlet glow.
"The Eye of Judgment!" Leilin thought to himself.
This vertical eye was similar to the clone he had summoned before, but its size was more than ten times what Leilin had previously seen!
Clearly, under the powerful summoning of a Second-rank Wizard, the Eye of Judgment had brought far greater power.
If the Eye of Judgment that Leilin had summoned during his apprentice days possessed only one hundred-millionth of the original's power, then this vertical eye summoned by Leonor likely held one ten-millionth or even one-millionth of the true Eye of Judgment's power!
The Eye of Judgment floated there silently. Leilin even detected a glimmer of intelligence within its pupil.
"Unlike the unconscious phantoms summoned by apprentices, the Eye of Judgment summoned by a full Wizard is far more powerful and possesses its own intelligence, capable of autonomously and fairly adjudicating the contract between two parties!"
Leonor explained to Leilin.
In other words, if this was the kind of Eye of Judgment involved, the word games Leilin had previously used to swindle Roman the Evil Spirit could very likely be exposed, and he would face punishment from the Eye of Judgment.
"Now, I declare — the ceremony begins!"
Leonor spoke in a deep voice. The moment his words fell, the Eye of Judgment rippled slightly, and Leilin felt the surrounding air grow heavier and more solemn.
"In the presence of the great and impartial Eye of Judgment! Leilin, are you willing to sign this contract?" Leonor asked, his voice clear and powerful, speaking in the Ancient Byron Language.
"I am willing!" Leilin answered in a deep voice, also using the Ancient Byron Language.
Moreover, the instant the words left his lips, he felt his very soul tremble, emitting the same voice.
The Eye of Judgment in the void shuddered, as if bearing witness to this contract.
"Then, in the name of Leonor, I declare — the contract is established!" Leonor proclaimed loudly.
Whoosh!
The parchment contract in Leonor's hand suddenly burst into flame without any wind, turning to flecks of ash that flew into the Eye of Judgment.
Swish!
The Eye of Judgment suddenly burst apart, splitting into two beams of black light that, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, dispersed into the bodies of Leilin, Leonor, and the others.
"Congratulations! From this day forward, you are a foreign-affiliated Wizard of the Four Seasons Garden! Not only will you receive a monthly allocation of rare resources, but most of our laboratories and libraries will also be open to you!"
Leonor said to Leilin.