Warlock Apprentice

Although Xiliu and Kavoline only clashed once, the intensity was truly astounding, drawing the attention of many. By the afternoon, the events at Fangling Hall had already spread throughout the Sky Mechanical City.

In itself, this wasn’t a major incident. After all, Xiliu and Kavoline were merely testing their weapons, and nothing serious came out of it. Moreover, the duel took place in a private residential district, so the Enforcement Squad didn’t impose any penalties. Yet, because there were so many witnesses, Xiliu’s Ice Whip, dazzling in his hands, and the presence of Glenn at Fangling Hall led many to immediately associate the scene with the top-three customized items of the Nova Competition.

As a result, rumors that Xiliu’s Ice Whip was a custom creation from the Research and Development Institute began to spread like wildfire.

Furthermore, considering how few members of the institute were present in the Sky Mechanical City capable of taking on such custom tasks, most quickly deduced the Ice Whip’s creator to be none other than Angel.

Angel’s popularity, combined with this custom work from the Research and Development Institute, caused the news to explode. Within a short time, nearly everyone knew about the incident at Fangling Hall.

Additionally, recordings of the scene, captured on photostones, were already being circulated in limited circles.

At this moment, in a secluded ancient residence deep in Manshi Magic Material Street, a group of people was quietly watching the projection on the wall.

It was a cramped space, but over ten individuals had crowded inside.

The air remained heavy with silence; there wasn’t even the sound of breathing. The gazes of everyone were fixed on the shifting images on the wall.

As the scene ended, Xiliu retracted his long whip, the whip’s shadow disappeared, and the icy dragon dissipated.

”Now that you’ve seen it, what are your opinions?” The one speaking was a man in a crimson cloak. In the room, apart from him, everyone else wore black cloaks, each bearing an emblem resembling a ”solar eclipse” on the back.

If Viking were here, he would immediately recognize the emblem as representing the Unparalleled Great Demon God of the Abyss—The Profound Lord. The people in this room were all members of the Profound Alchemy Association, some of whom had previously visited the Breeze Demonic Material Shop.

After the crimson-cloaked man posed his question, silence lingered momentarily until a sharp, slightly effeminate voice broke the stillness: ”This is an incredibly powerful offensive weapon, and yet the Breath of Xiliu hasn’t even unleashed its full potential.”

”That wasn’t its full potential?” someone gasped in disbelief.

”Of course not. Xiliu is just an apprentice and can only draw out about thirty percent of the weapon’s power. If wielded by an Official Wizard, its attack strength would reach an entirely different level.”

”This weapon works for Official Wizards as well?” The speaker couldn’t suppress the excitement in their voice; under the hood, shadowed eyes suddenly gleamed.

”Yes, this weapon could be classified as half-step high order.” The effeminate man continued, his tone tinged with ridicule: ”I know what you’re thinking—you’re considering stealing it, aren’t you? Hah, putting aside the fact that the entire Sky Mechanical City is now watching this event, making you an inevitable target, do you really think the Transcendental Wizard’s connection to Xiliu hasn’t accounted for potential scheming?”

After the effeminate man finished speaking, a broad-shouldered man with a knightly posture added, ”Indeed, there’s no way the Transcendental Wizard hasn’t anticipated this. This afternoon, several alchemy mentors from Ashiliye used the Ice Whip as a teaching case during their lectures. I was present at the time; while no definite conclusions were reached, it became clear that the Ice Whip incorporated both contract and blood magic patterns. I don’t need to explain what these patterns signify.”

The crimson-cloaked man spoke softly: ”With those patterns, it’s nearly certain the Ice Whip is bonded through blood recognition. While it’s not impossible to transfer ownership, with Angel’s foresight, he’s likely included a self-destruct mechanism to prevent such transfers.”

Thus, attempting to steal it could end up costing far more than any potential benefits.

”Rather than stealing it, I’m more curious about the whip’s tier,” the crimson-cloaked man said as he squinted. ”According to the information I’ve gathered from the Infinite Battle Tower, Angel has taken on alchemy commissions from both the Philosopher and Xiliu. Just in the past two days, there have been two significant Alchemy Omens near Angel’s residence. Do you know what this implies?”

”Both items are at least intermediate rank. It’s already confirmed that the Ice Whip is half-step high order. I suspect the item he customized for Onassis won’t be inferior in rank.”

”Half-step high order falls within the normal range of quality for the Research and Development Institute. But what’s truly terrifying is his crafting speed...”

Half-step high order—for those present, it was practically the upper limit of alchemy works they’d encountered. Especially for those who once identified as Ashiliye apprentices, whose expressions turned grim. In the Alchemy World, some people took decades yet failed to create even an intermediate-rank item. Yet Angel had produced two such works within a single week—this gap was immeasurable.

”He is, after all, an Enchantment Alchemist. Compared to blending, enchantment has a significant advantage in crafting speed,” someone muttered quietly.

”Enchantment may indeed be faster than blending, but for both speed and rank to reach such heights—that is exceedingly rare. In the entire Sky Mechanical City, he might be the only one,” the effeminate man said with a quiet tone. ”Still, what intrigues me more is why the High Priest suddenly holds the Transcendental Wizard in such high regard?”

The crimson-cloaked man, referred to as the High Priest, revealed a ghostly glint in his eyes. ”It’s not me who values him—it’s the backing behind the Breeze Demonic Material Shop that seems to bear his shadow.”

”Oh?”

The High Priest briefly summarized the recent events involving the Breeze Demonic Material Shop. ”...Although the theatrical Shadow Boxes sold there don’t bear Angel’s insignia, many alchemists have privately confirmed that the Shadow Boxes were very likely crafted by him.”

Placing the Shadow Boxes in the Breeze Demonic Material Shop was effectively a bold declaration that he is its backer.

”Are you suggesting the Transcendental Wizard is deliberately interfering in our affairs with the Breeze Demonic Material Shop?”

”It’s hard to say. I summoned you all here to analyze his various aspects.”

Analyze his information? The effeminate man hesitated for a moment before asking, ”Are you planning to act against the Transcendental Wizard, High Priest?”

His words sparked a stir among the group. That would mean targeting a member of the Research and Development Institute! In the Sky Mechanical City, no one dared to provoke those individuals!

The High Priest did not answer directly but instead smiled faintly. ”You all understand how crucial the Demon Flower Sprite Demon Bloodstone is. My hope is to uncover the underlying cause here. If we can reason with Angel, that would naturally be ideal. If not...”

The High Priest trailed off, falling silent. His ambiguous words sent chills down everyone’s spines. Were they really going to target Angel?

”If reason doesn’t work... then we’ll have to let it go.” The High Priest shrugged with a smile. ”At worst, we’ll start with the Valley of Breeze.”

Despite his words, everyone couldn’t quite believe the High Priest’s untroubled expression.

”Let’s continue discussing Angel’s abilities. Does anyone have further insights into the scenes we just watched?”