End of the Magic Era - Chapter 352

Chapter 352: Arcane Ring

“Well, Cousin Leon, how do you know we are going to the Tulan Mountains?” Lin Yun sounded like he was just very casually asking a question, but unbeknownst to the others, he poured mana into the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel.

If Leon’s answer was problematic, Lin Yun’s Ten Thousand Spell Wheel would burst out in an instant, ready to add another Elder to his list of victims.

Only three people knew about the plan to go to the Tulan Mountains: Ross, William, and Lin Yun himself. Perhaps one might also count the Draconic Beastman who had been slumbering for two months.

But now, Leon mentioned his destination. How could this not raise Lin Yun’s vigilance?

Ross and William wouldn’t leak the information. Lin Yun trusted them. As for the Draconic Beastman, he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

Since that was the case, where did Leon’s information come from?

Lin Yun could only think of one possibility, which was that Leon had been peeping all along and might have accidentally heard about it in one of Ross and William’s discussions.

This was something intolerable for Lin Yun…

After surviving in that crazy era, Lin Yun knew more than anyone how dangerous it was to be stalked.

And Lin Yun usually used the same method to deal with any sort of danger.

Even now, if Leon couldn’t give Lin Yun a satisfying answer, this 7th Rank High Mage from the Cloud Tower would be exterminated.

“Hold on, hold on!”

Lin Yun had been pouring mana into the Spell Wheel very covertly, to the point that even Ross and William didn’t notice his killing intent.

But Leon paled when he heard Lin Yun’s words, and he shouted while retreating, as if he knew Lin Yun was planning something for him.

“Hmmm?” Lin Yun was secretly startled. This reaction was so different from how Leon had behaved in Thousand Sails City.

At that time, he was still speaking nonsense even after being Mana Shackled. How come he was now so timid, already panicking when a bit of mana was poured into the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel?

He had changed quite a bit after a few months.

This was quite interesting…

After thinking about it, Lin Yun dissipated the mana that he’d poured into the Spell Wheel. “Talk…”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Cousin Mafa, this is a misunderstanding…” A relieved smile appeared on Leon’s face when he saw Lin Yun lowering his guard. He wasn’t as confident as before and fear could be felt in his voice, but his hands were no longer shaking. “Because I know some secrets regarding the Tulan Mountains…”

“Oh?”

“As for the specifics, I’ll come back to them later… Rest assured, this matter is not troublesome to Cousin Mafa, so I won’t hide it from you. First, how I knew that you were going to the Tulan Mountains…” After stopping, Leon looked at Ross with a strange expression. “In fact, I learnt of your destination because of Ross…”

“Nonsense!” Ross rebuked.

If Lin Yun weren’t there talking to Leon, Ross would have already attacked him. ‘That scoundrel Leon, slandering me. It’s on you if you know our destination, don’t go framing me, is there such great hatred between us?’

‘Why would you say it was because of me… Damn, wouldn’t it be unfair if Cousin Mafa thinks that my lips aren’t tight enough?’

“Don’t worry, Cousin Ross, listen to him…” Lin Yun knew that things wouldn’t be that simple, so he raised his hand to stop Ross and nodded at Leon. “Keep going.”

“At least Cousin Mafa is smart enough, not like some people…” After saying that, Leon proudly looked at Ross, thinking, ‘let’s see if you still dare to cause trouble at dinner…’

After the last Elder Council’s meeting ended, Leon enthusiastically invited Lin Yun to dinner, in order the dissolve the previous issues and see if he could establish some friendship, but he hadn’t expected that scoundrel Ross to eagerly join in while also bringing William.

From the moment they sat down, Ross kept asking Leon what kind of conflict he’d had with Cousin Mafa in Thousand Sails City. He asked about every detail, such as how Leon tried to recruit Cousin Mafa, or his shameless boasting, or how he ended up Mana Shackled.

Leon remained red from embarrassment after every question and did not manage to resolve any issues or improve their relations as he’d hoped.

He finally had an opportunity to get back at him, ever so slightly.

After getting a small bit of revenge on Ross, Leon continued, “Cousin Mafa should know that Aube, Ross, and I were the three with the greatest hopes of becoming the next patriarch. Thus, I would pay attention to them to some extent, and I discovered a few issues due to this. I found out that Ross was always looking for something. This originally had nothing to do with me. Besides being a bit curious, I didn’t pay much attention to it…’

“But who would have thought that I would run into Ross in the Dawn Plane…” Leon once again looked at Ross with a smile. “Well, Ross, do you remember what happened in the Dawn Plane? You defeated those three Yeluren High Priests and charged into the temple to steal that diary. I was actually behind you as you went. But seeing you so focused, I didn’t have the nerve to disturb you…”

“You…” Ross’ expression grew serious. He looked at Leon with a complicated expression. Ross naturally remembered what happened in the Dawn Plane. He had paid a huge price to defeat those three Yeluren High Priests and was at the end of his rope. Had Leon been ruthless back then, there would have been one less candidate for the patriarch’s seat.

“Alright, you don’t need to look at me like this. Although my conduct isn’t always the best, I’ll never take advantage of someone’s difficulties…” After saying that, he went back to the topic at hand. “Yet, Ross didn’t expect that I had already read the notes that he stole. It was the diary left behind by an Archmage mentioning a Meditation Law known as the Elemental Tide…”

“How come you came out now?” Ross still couldn’t accept it…

“It’s simple… The secret I was mentioning has something to do with the diary…”

“Oh?” Lin Yun became interested as he heard about it.

“Ross, I think you should remember, that diary mentioned that the Archmage’s inheritance came from the ruins of the 3rd Dynasty, but it was incomplete. It only retained a few portions of the magic inheritance, and that Archmage would find the complete ruins as long as he kept following those leads.”

“That’s right…”

At this time, Ross was thoroughly convinced that Leon indeed looked through that diary.

“In fact, I obtained another set of notes a few years ago. The contents of the diary were almost the same as the one you read, it was the same Archmage along with an incomplete inheritance that needed to be tracked down if one wanted the opportunity to get the complete magic inheritance. If I’m not wrong, there should be seven such diaries, each with almost identical contents…”

“Oh?” Lin Yun frowned, not quite understanding why Leon was saying all this…

“This is the inheritance of the Gaugass King. After the fighting between Emperor Zhantui and the Gaugass King, the latter disappeared in the Tulan Mountains, but he divided his magic inheritance into seven, one of which includes the Elemental Tide that Ross longed to obtain…”

“How did you learn about this?”

“It’s because I’m the same as Ross, I also obtained one of the magic inheritances, but the one I obtained wasn’t the Meditation Law Set, but rather the Gaugass King’s Magic Conducting Rune, the Arcane Ring…”

“Eh?” Lin Yun looked at Leon strangely when he heard that. Lin Yun had naturally heard of the Arcane Ring. No, he hadn’t just heard about it, it was actually one of the runes he had considered before settling on the Magic Array.

It was said that once a mage with an Arcane Ring stepped into the Archmage realm, each of their rings could be fused with a True Spirit Magic Tool. Once that mage reached the peak of the Archmage realm, with nine fused True Spirit Magic Tools, their strength would be pushed towards the Extraordinary realm.

Chapter 353: Still Alive

But… Was Leon’s fighting strength too weak?

Even if he was only a 7th Rank High Mage, he could have fused with seven Spiritual Magic Tools, right? If he burst with the power of seven Spiritual Magic Tools, he could directly contend against an Archmage. But then, how come he was Mana Shackled so easily?

“Well, my Arcane Ring is incomplete…” Leon had an awkward expression as he explained, “I’m in the same situation as Ross. When he got the incomplete Elemental Tide, I got the incomplete Arcane Ring, but I had more clues than him. Thus, when I learnt that Ross was seeking the Elemental Tide, I knew that his destination was the same as mine, the Tulan Mountains…”

“I already thought about approaching Ross to cooperate a few months ago, before I went to Thousand Sails City. But I wasn’t very fortunate and got Mana Shackled by Cousin Mafa. Then, Teacher lectured me and brought me to the Pale Plane. I only returned recently and was planning on discussing it again with Ross, but I discovered that you were secluding yourself in the alchemy laboratory, Cousin Mafa, as if you were preparing for something. I ended up making a blind guess. I hadn’t expected…”

“Alright, I got it.” Lin Yun more or less understood. This news indeed came from Ross.

“Then, does that mean Cousin Mafa agrees?”

“I didn’t say that…”

“Eh?” Leon became a little anxious as he entreated, “Cousin Mafa, I know I wasn’t sensible enough back then and offended you, is it too late for me to apologize? You are so powerful, Thorne can’t even match you, there is no need to care about small fry like myself. You shouldn’t take such a matter to heart…”

“Is the Arcane Ring that important to you?”

“Very important, Cousin Mafa. With your insight, you should have noticed that I have already completed nine Arcane Rings, but I can’t make these nine rings merge. In other words, although I appear to be a 7th Rank High Mage, my fighting power is closer to that of an ordinary 5th Rank High Mage. Only by completing the Arcane Rings would I be able to attack the Archmage realm in the future…”

“Since that’s the case, I won’t take you with me. A 5th Rank High Mage isn’t enough in that place…”

“No, no, Cousin Mafa, I can prove my worth! Although my power is equivalent to that of an ordinary 5th Rank High Mage, I’ve spent the last few years gathering information on the Tulan Mountains, I know a lot more than Ross!”

“…” Ross was inwardly cursing, ‘You shameless scoundrel, you’re still throwing mud at me while making a case for yourself…’

“Oh?” Lin Yun stared blankly for a moment. “You know a lot about the Tulan Mountains? Let me hear it, I won’t mind taking another person into the Tulan Mountains if you can prove your worth…”

“I know a shortcut!”

“Explain.”

“From the Aurij Mountains to the Tulan Mountains, you have to go through the Traces of Misfortunes. Cousin Mafa should know that the Traces of Misfortunes are the most dangerous area in that region. Many high-level magic beasts are lurking in the depths there, and if not careful, one could end up dying pitifully. But I know of a shortcut to cross the Traces of Misfortunes, this should be enough to save a lot of time for you, Cousin Mafa!”

After saying this, Leon looked at Lin Yun with hope…

But Lin Yun only shook his head.

“This isn’t enough…”

“…” Leon’s expression darkened, but he didn’t leave. He hesitated for a few moments before clenching his teeth. “I know a secret… The Gaugass King might still be alive…”

“Eh?” Lin Yun suddenly seemed more interested. “Tell me more.”

“I once read something in the Cloud Tower…” Leon unconsciously lowered his voice. “The information on it dates from several hundred years ago, before Sir Jouyi became the Star Sage. It was when the previous master of the Cloud Tower went into the depths of the Tulan Mountains…”

“You are talking about Sir Shuang Yu?” Lin Yun interjected…

“Yes, that was Sir Shuang Yu…” Leon nodded before continuing, “Many people knew that Sir Shuang Yu carried the bloodline of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal family. But this bloodline was too thin, and Sir Shuang Yu didn’t care about being King, so he never admitted to his identity as a descendant of the 3rd Dynasty’s royal bloodline. But it was mentioned in those notes that in his later years, Sir Shuang Yu gathered a huge amount of information on Emperor Zhantui and also went into the depths of the Tulan Mountains a decade before his own death…”

“What does it have to do with whether the Gaugass King is alive or not?”

“Let me finish, Cousin Mafa. The note gathered at the time was incomplete. It only recorded the life of Sir Shuang Yu as well as his previous achievement of going through the Tulan Mountains, thus no one took the note seriously. But because of the Arcane Ring, I paid a lot of attention to everything linked to the Tulan Mountains. Thus, I looked for all kinds of ways to get the missing parts. I spent almost a year before I found another small section in the corner of the library. After putting the two together, I found out the words Sir Shuang Yu said before his death…”

“What did he say?”

“On his deathbed, Sir Shuang Yu grabbed the hand of his only disciple and shouted, ‘The Gaugass King has yet to die, he is still in the Tulan Mountains…'”

“There is such a thing?” Lin Yun realized that something was wrong with that. “Hold on, you said the only disciple of Sir Shuang Yu? Isn’t that the Sun Sage?”

“Yes, one of Okland’s three Sages, Sun Sage Suhen…”

“No wonder he went missing…”

“Yes, I always believed that Sir Suhen’s disappearance had something to do with the words Sir Shuang Yu said on his deathbed…”

Lin Yun thought for a bit while looking at Leon. After a full minute, he gently nodded. “Get ready, we are leaving in an hour!”

“Right away!” Leon bolted away.

In fact, less than an hour afterward, Leon Merlin returned, armed to the teeth. It could be seen from this that Leon had been preparing for this trip for a long time. How else would he have all his equipment ready?

Four talented youths of the Merlin Family, as well as the Draconic Beastman, Xiuban, left the Merlin Family Manor in the morning. By the afternoon, they were already halfway up the Aurij Mountains.

They were less than an hour away from the spot where Lin Yun had killed Stan Watson, and the magic beasts in the surroundings were getting more and more dangerous. Naturally, they would only be considered dangerous to common folk and ordinary Mercenary Groups. Lin Yun’s group consisted of mid-rank High Mages, so they didn’t put those magic beasts in their eyes.

In fact, these four High Mages hadn’t even made a move yet. Xiuban was the one in charge of clearing away the magic beasts.

“Why me?” The Draconic Beastman asked that question for the 3rd time.

“Because you slept for too long.”

This was Lin Yun’s immediate answer.

Naturally, Lin Yun’s true goal was to get a feel on Xiuban’s strength. Draconic Beastmen were abnormal existences, especially a strange one like Xiuban, whose strength greatly rose from being a 5th Rank Great Swordsman to being a 5th Rank Expert Swordsman just from sleeping all the time for several months after absorbing that drop of blood.

Moreover, Xiuban’s power couldn’t be compared to that of a 5th Rank Expert Swordsman.

He had both Beastman and Draconic bloodlines and was treading on two different paths. He got amazing power from his Beastman bloodline and casting ability from his Draconic bloodline, making him crush those on the same rank as him. Lin Yun estimated that even if Ross and William worked together, they might not be able to have a good fight against Xiuban, let alone Leon, who was only a pseudo-7th Rank High Mage.

Xiuban only lacked combat experience.

Thus, Lin Yun didn’t allow the others to make a move and forced Xiuban to keep on fighting.

And Xiuban didn’t disappoint him.

Lin Yun’s Carnage in his hand was crushing everything in their path. Over a hundred magic beasts died on their way, and there was no lack of magic beasts with levels in the mid-twenties among them.

As he kept fighting, Xiuban got more and more familiar with his power. His strength could be seen increasing after each battle. When they were almost halfway up the mountain, Xiuban even killed a group of four Level 25 magic beasts.

A Level 25 magic beast was around Xiuban’s own rank, and even Ross and William would have trouble facing four of those at the same time.

With Xiuban spearheading the group, they effortlessly reached the halfway point. At this time, Lin Yun looked at the sky and noticed that it was still early, so he urged the blood-soaked Xiuban, “Xiuban, hurry up, we need to reach the peak of the Aurij Mountains before dark…”

“Hurry up, hurry up… You are powerful enough to go first,” Xiuban mumbled as he waved Carnage in his hand while pouncing towards his next target.

“Cousin, did you hear that sound?” At this time, William suddenly frowned.