As for that woman Besta,
In his view, while Besta had indeed played tricks on him at the very beginning, she had ultimately been punished for it.
By now, they were even. As for whether that woman lived or died, that was up to her own luck — what did that have to do with Leylin?
At the entrance to the
Surrounding a platinum gate identical to the one outside, the Four Seasons Garden had constructed a vast, densely packed complex of buildings here.
Before the platinum gate's Secret Realm entrance, there were two lines of Wizards and apprentices apparently queuing up.
Following them further ahead, one could see a purchasing point set up exclusively by the Four Seasons Garden.
Although these Wizards were free to dispose of their harvests however they wished after the Four Seasons Garden's share had been deducted, they were more inclined to exchange for resources better suited to their own needs, or even convenient-to-carry Magic Stone crystal cards, and the like.
All of these could be obtained through exchange here.
As a result, Leylin estimated that aside from the confiscated portions, at least fifty to sixty percent of the resources had been purchased by the Four Seasons Garden in this manner.
Bzzzz!!!
Just at that moment, a fierce red light erupted from before the platinum gate.
The crimson pillar of light seemed to possess a will of its own, pointing straight at a
"Take him away!"
Immediately, a guard-detail Wizard stepped forward and simply waved his hand.
Two armored figures clad in iron, their surfaces flickering with the spiritual glow of Wizardry runes, moved in at once, seizing the unfortunate fellow from either side.
"Oh! No!"
The Wizard screamed in despair, but even as he did, two palm-sized fireballs had already slammed into the approaching armored figures.
Boom!!!
Flames surged outward, a wave of heat constantly spreading in all directions as the surrounding Wizards hurriedly retreated.
By the time the flames dissipated, the two iron-clad figures still stood there unscathed — not even a scratch marred the surface of their armor.
"Assaulting law enforcement officers — an additional charge! Take him away!"
The Wizard said coldly, and at his command, the two iron-clad figures strode forward and subdued the offending Wizard on the spot.
"How pitiful! That Wizard must have been smuggling something and tried to slip past..."
A Wizard standing beside Leilin murmured in a low voice.
Leilin nodded. He knew that any resource produced within the Eternal River Secret Realm carried a unique aura — one that would quickly dissipate upon leaving the realm with no effect on the item itself. The White Wizards had specifically exploited this property to create detection Wizardry formations.
Whenever a Wizard attempted to smuggle contraband, the formation would instantly detect anyone leaking that distinctive aura.
And so, ever since the Four Seasons Garden and the other White Wizard alliances had adopted these formations, not a single Wizard had managed to successfully smuggle anything out.
Leilin was well aware of this, which was why during the previous operation he had refused the Dark Mandrake as payment and demanded Magic Stones instead.
"Welcome! Welcome! Wizard Leilin!"
After passing through numerous buildings, Leilin arrived at the Security Group's office area from his last visit.
This time, it was Duoluyin who came out to greet him personally.
Duoluyin's attitude this time was exceptionally cordial, with a barely concealed hint of apology woven into it.
The last time Leilin had first arrived, Duoluyin had assumed he was just another outcast Wizard being sent to a place like District Thirteen — someone who would likely last only a few days before becoming a corpse on the wasteland. His attitude had been far from welcoming; if anything, he'd been eager to send off what he considered a harbinger of bad luck.
Now, however, reports of Leilin's various accomplishments had left him feeling decidedly uneasy.
Good heavens! Even he himself was only marginally stronger than a semi-elementalized Wizard, yet in just over half a month, Leilin had delivered nearly a dozen semi-elementalized Wizards!
Most recently, regarding the Four Seasons Garden's personnel assignments, Leilin had been directly reassigned back to the entrance headquarters here — and according to orders from above, there were signs they intended to put him in a position of greater importance.
Even in personnel matters, high-ranking members of the Four Seasons Garden had spoken up on his behalf.
This meant that Leilin was not alone, but had a backing! He had strength! He had backing! This made him a very difficult person to offend.
Doluin was now deeply regretting his actions last time, and had come out specifically to greet him in order to build a good relationship with Leilin.
"Vice Group Leader Doluin! It's been a while!"
Leilin smiled and nodded. He was an adult, after all, and would not be so unwise as to show his true feelings. What he displayed outwardly was a very enthusiastic manner, making Doluin feel almost refreshed by it.
Although he knew it was an act, Doluin was still momentarily taken aback.
It should be known that most Wizards were very reclusive individuals. Essentially, apart from staying in their laboratories researching and occasionally teaching apprentices, they had almost no normal social interactions.
Therefore, Wizards often appeared rather stiff in such matters, and someone like Leilin—who was both very young, possessed great power, and was also very skilled in this regard—was practically an anomaly!
Doluin was silently shouting "pervert" in his mind, and also had a very strong feeling that this person would be extremely difficult to handle.
Dealing with this kind of Wizard cost far more than what one would pay for an ordinary Wizard, but what he had done last time had indeed been a bit excessive. Doluin asked himself if he was truly willing to offend a Wizard with such bright prospects over such a minor matter.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Doluin's expression didn't change, and his smile filled his face.
"Wizard Leilin! Your merit points this time are quite high! I've brought them specially for you!" Doluin handed something resembling a medal to Leilin.
Leilin reached out and took it.
The medal was quite heavy. It seemed to be made of some unknown metal, with a very high density, and felt extremely cold to the touch.
The front of the medal bore the emblem of the Four Seasons Garden, while the back had a small screen.
On the screen, it was marked: "Lein Ferrell, Merit Points: 563, Status: Locked!"
"Soul imprints are recorded on this merit badge, so no one but you can use it. If you wish to use it, you must first perform an unlocking procedure..."
Doluin began to explain the badge's usage to Leilin in detail.
"Oh?" At these words, Leilin sent a thread of Spiritual Power to attach to the medal.
*Zzzzt!* Immediately, a sound like a key turning in a lock was heard, and the entire merit badge card began to ripple with bright light.
This layer of light was a bright, emerald green—only a thin layer. Though brilliant, it was not blinding, enveloping the entire merit badge.
A moment later, when the glow dissipated, the characters on the medal's screen had already changed.
The name and merit points at the top remained the same as before, but the status bar at the bottom had shifted from a red locked state to a green unlocked one.
"Quite convenient!" Leilin was mildly surprised. In the Wizard world, each person's soul signature served as a unique password, so this method of encryption was absolutely cutting-edge. Compared to the retinal locks of his previous life, it was no less impressive—and arguably even more secure and convenient.
"Ha ha… Leilin, you haven't been to our Merit Exchange Center yet, have you? There's no shortage of great things there! Especially with how many contribution points you have—I'm a little jealous, honestly!"
Doruin said.
"Oh? Then I really ought to go take a look." Leilin smiled faintly. Doruin had brought this up right from the start, which was clearly no whim. It seemed the apology gift he'd mentioned earlier was going to be redeemed through the merit exchange here.
He had spent enough years navigating organizations to know that even during wartime exchanges, certain rare items couldn't simply be claimed with contribution points alone. At minimum, you needed the appropriate rank and standing—and different people who went to redeem items received different levels of discount.
Obviously, the vice-captain of the Security Group standing before him held a rank far above his own.
"Ha ha… of course! Let's head over right now!"
Doruin laughed heartily on the surface, though inside he was practically hemorrhaging. Even for him, with his rank, there was a fixed monthly quota! Once that quota was exceeded, he'd still have to pay full merit points! Given Leilin's attitude, there was no way he was getting through today without a serious hit to his wallet.
But since the words had already left his mouth, Doruin had no choice but to lead Leilin to the Merit Exchange point in the Four Seasons Garden.
It was an enormous white building, its roof sweeping high upward in a conical shape with a perfectly smooth arc. Surrounding it was a vast array of defensive Wizard formation lights that made one hesitant to approach.
Under Doruin's guidance, Leilin passed through without a single obstruction.
After traversing a pristine white corridor, Doruin led Leilin into a grand hall that bore a strong resemblance to the trading hall back at the academy.
"The merit exchange system of our Four Seasons Garden is fully integrated with the entire White Wizard Alliance. Here, you can find not only rare materials exclusive to our academy, but also advanced academic knowledge, and various other extraordinary items…"
Doruin continued his explanation, but Leilin was already dazzled by the enormous exchange listings displayed on the wall screens.
Compared to the trading center within the Four Seasons Garden, both the quantity and rarity of materials here had risen to an entirely different level.
Elemental Particle Crystals that had been limited to small-quantity purchases back in the Garden were sold here in bulk—as many as you wanted!
There were also all manner of rare potions, ones that could help Wizards break through their Spiritual Power bottlenecks, displayed right out in the open for anyone to see, drawing numerous Wizards to stop and browse.
"…And here, those of us with the rank of vice-captain or above enjoy a small bargaining privilege—we can exchange items at a ten percent discount!"
Dorun waved his hand, looking very magnanimous.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
Raelin walked up to a window.
"Whatever he exchanges, put it on my tab—use my authority! Understood!"
Dorun stepped forward and knocked on the glass window.