No matter how wonderful the Four Seasons Secret Realm was, it didn't belong to him. Leilin couldn't afford to reveal his trump cards over a secret realm.
And as a newly promoted
Apart from entertaining the thought in his mind, Leilin had no better options.
……
Seven days later, a piercing cry from a bird of prey rang out. Leilin rode atop a Dragon-Crowned Nightjar, heading toward Sleepless City.
The task of managing a secret realm truly deserved its reputation as one of the most sought-after missions.
Leilin's group had spent fewer than seven days clearing out the entire eastern half of the realm. They had not only resolved the blight problem but also driven off several herds of dangerous beasts.
After that, with nothing left to do, they were escorted out of the secret realm. Each of their identity tablets had received a hefty sum of contribution points.
"My earlier plan — I can give it a try now. And I need to find a few more attendants. Doing everything myself is far too time-consuming…" Leilin mused privately.
After four months, the side effects from using Dark System energy particle crystals had completely faded. However, the quantity of crystals the
He remembered that her shop held quite a few useful items.
Sleepless City was as crowded as ever. Leilin went straight to the VIP通道 reserved for Wizards, presented his Ring, and entered the city under the respectful bows of numerous guards.
Suddenly, something trembled beneath the hem of Leilin's robe. A burst of green light stubbornly seeped through the fabric.
"Hm?"
Leilin's brow furrowed. He reached to his waist and pulled out a miniature notebook pendant.
A green Mana Mark lit up, and an elderly woman's voice came through: "Hey! Leilin. Have you arrived yet?"
From her voice alone, Leilin could clearly sense a hint of urgency from its owner.
Ever since he had last handed the old witch a set of soul-related data from his apprentice days, she had shown tremendous interest and had even left a Mana Mark specifically for Leilin to contact her.
Over the past few months, it seemed she had made some kind of breakthrough in her experiments but had hit another wall, and she had been sending messages to Leilin continuously.
Unfortunately, Leilin had been buried in brewing potions inside the Four Seasons Garden, earning contribution points, and had no time to deal with this — so he had naturally ignored every message.
Still, the old witch was remarkably patient, reaching out to Leilin every few days without fail.
"What's the rush? I already said I'd come as soon as I could."
Leilin spoke into the Mana Mark.
At the same time, he paused and walked toward a more secluded corner, casting a sound-isolation warding spell around himself.
"This time I've gotten my hands on some real treasures. Remember those Dark System particle crystals from before? I have a full 500 grams right here. You'll regret it if you don't come — I swear…"
The old witch clearly knew Leilin's personality and went straight for the bargaining chips.
"Five hundred grams?" Leilin's eyebrows shot up, and all the tension in his brow vanished.
That quantity of particle crystals, combined with what he had already stockpiled, would be more than enough to push his spiritual element transformation progress to a very high level.
Moreover, Dark System energy particle crystals weren't a universal remedy. According to Leilin's estimates and the Chip's calculations, these crystals could push his elemental transformation progress past 70% at best — and he should count himself lucky for that.
Furthermore, the side effects were terrifying. Had his constitution not been far above the norm, he wouldn't have dared take such a reckless gamble.
"That's right — I've put up a huge stake this time. I even owe favors to several old monsters… Remember our last deal? Give me the rest of that data, and all the crystals are yours. Plus, I've made progress on what you asked me about last time. The details — we'll talk at my shop…"
The old witch's voice gradually calmed, suggesting she felt fairly confident about her position.
"Fine. Wait for me — I'm on my way!" Leilin deactivated the Mana Mark and quickened his pace.
Inside Sleepless City — 231 Elm Tree Street!
"Heh heh heh… You got here awfully fast. Looks like you're pretty eager for what I've got!"
The moment Leilin stepped inside, the witch behind the counter slammed the shop's front door shut. Clearly, she had no intention of doing any more business today.
"You're a Wizard, and I'm a Wizard. If neither of us had something the other wanted, we wouldn't be standing here. You can skip the little theatrics!"
Leilin studied the old witch's appearance carefully.
Compared to their last meeting, she looked even more decrepit now. Her hair had withered and was falling out — she seemed to have aged thirty or forty years in a flash.
"What happened to you?" Leilin asked casually.
"Nothing. Just a side effect from an experiment." The old witch clearly didn't want to elaborate.
"Here are the Dark System energy particle crystals. All 500 grams, right here." She shook her head. Her body was skeletal to the extreme, looking as though she might collapse and die at any moment. Swaying unsteadily, she placed a black potion vial on the countertop.
Inside the vial was a mass of semi-transparent black crystal that seemed to hover between solid and liquid — identical to what Leilin had seen before.
"Never mind that for now. The matter I asked you to look into last time — have you actually made progress?" Leilin asked. What he had commissioned the old witch to investigate was no ordinary request.
"Of course. Those of the same kind are always most sensitive to one another. From the aura you give off, I fully believe you're a Dark Wizard. And the organization behind me is very willing to accept your membership…"
The old witch panted heavily and sank into a rattan chair before continuing.
What Leilin had asked the old witch to look into was, naturally, connections to Dark Wizard organizations.
Even within Sleepless City — controlled as it was by Light Wizards — dark corners were sure to exist. And those corners were the soil in which Dark Wizards survived.
Leilin was a Dark Wizard after all. For him, the approach other Wizards took — slowly accumulating resources, grinding down Spiritual Power over time, waiting for a breakthrough opportunity — was hopelessly inefficient.
Besides, Leilin had no Wizard secret realm of his own. With his current wealth, he couldn't possibly establish one either. He could only rely on working for an organization in exchange for resources. The pace of accumulation was agonizingly slow.
The original accumulation of capital was always bloody. Steady, peaceful accumulation could never compare to taking things by force. While such methods came with danger, Leilin had calculated that the risk was acceptable when weighed against the gains.
In truth, this was the thinking of most Dark Wizards.
Under normal circumstances, they would carefully cultivate their secret realms. But the moment their needs spiked, they would resort to outright plunder.
Through their previous contact, Leilin had realized that this old witch was not merely a Dark Wizard — her little shop was very likely a fencing outpost and contact point for a Dark Wizard organization lurking within Sleepless City.
And so, he had started to entertain certain ideas.
After all, with his current strength, he couldn't raid any secret realm on his own. He needed the help of other Wizards.
"Mm. So when will you take me to meet your leader?" Leilin asked.
"And my payment?" the old witch countered.
"Take a look at this first." Leilin considered for a moment, then tossed a scroll to the old witch.
She caught it and closed her eyes briefly. "Hm! This appears to be a brief introduction to the brewing method for a Spiritual Power potion. These raw materials are truly rare — it's actually a Spirit Body…"
"Heh… heh…" Suddenly, the old witch's throat seemed to clamp shut, producing a strangled sound. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"This is… an ancient Wizard's Spiritual Power potion formula — and the first several steps have already been completed…"
She stared at Leilin in shock. "Give me the rest of the data for this formula, and the deal is done! I can even throw in additional compensation — take your pick from my personal collection!"
Leilin merely smiled with disdain at her offer. "Are you joking? A complete ancient Spiritual Power potion formula that's useful even for full-fledged Wizards — and you think it's worth only that much?"
"Then what do you want?"
The old witch's face darkened. A wave of ominous Spiritual Power fluctuations rippled outward from her body.
Whoosh! As though a hurricane had passed through, every item in the shop began to rattle and tremble.
"Thinking of a fight? Don't forget — this is Sleepless City." Leilin reminded her with a calm smile. Then a flash of black light flickered in his eyes, and a Spiritual Power wave equally vast and unfathomably deep descended directly into the shop.
BOOM!!!
The two waves of Spiritual Power collided head-on. The air erupted in a rapid series of sonic booms, and glass jars all around shattered one after another. Organs and preservation fluid spilled across the floor.
"Your Spiritual Power — it's improved this much?" The old witch stumbled back two steps, visibly startled.
"Not just that. Take a look at this." Leilin produced the Four Seasons Garden identity tablet from inside his robe and waved it before the old witch's eyes.
"The Four Seasons Garden's identity tablet! I didn't expect you'd already joined them!"
The old witch's expression grew even more guarded.
"Hello? Is this 231 Elm Tree Street, Mary's General Store? We detected an intense Spiritual Power field fluctuation from your location. Do you require assistance?"
A milky-white glow enveloped a Mana Mark, which floated up from the old witch's counter.
"N-No… nothing's wrong. It was just an energy leak from a failed experiment…" The old witch gave Leilin a long look, then spoke to the Mana Mark.
The voice on the other end fell silent for a moment. "I'll log it as such then. However, you've violated Article 762 of the Sleepless City Regulations. Please report to the Public Center before the 13th to pay your fine…"
Clearly, the other party was suspicious. But since the old witch herself hadn't filed a complaint, they naturally chose not to press the matter.
"Understood." The old witch exchanged a few more perfunctory words before shutting off the Mana Mark.
In the Wizard world, raw strength alone wasn't enough — you also needed connections behind you.