Chapter 818: Touching That Door
Markelyle grabbed the pieces of paper on which the formulas were written with shaky hands. Despite having Master-level attainments, he still did not understand many of the formulas and calculations on the paper well. He also found the answers to many of the questions that he had in the formulas and calculations. He could tell that the ink on the paper was still very fresh, and it was obvious that they had all just been written not long ago. The only person who could have written them in the laboratory was Lin Li.
Lin Li ignored Markelyle’s actions since he had already memorized the results of his calculations. The papers would be useless to him, then. It would be alright if Markelyle could stay there quietly, but if he were to continue making a fuss, Lin Li wouldn’t mind throwing him out of the laboratory.
Realizing that a fight wasn’t going to happen, Joan felt a sense of relief, and frantically walked towards Markelyle who was already immersed in the various formulas. He then carefully pulled out the crumpled list of herbs from Markelyle’s hand and quickly fled the laboratory.
“Mas… Master Felic,” Markelyle muttered. After reading the formulas and calculations on the pieces of paper, Markelyle already understood that the young pharmacist, Lin Li, had long surpassed him in terms of pharmaceutical attainments. At the thought of his behavior just now, he felt incredibly ashamed, and he wished that he could immediately cover his face and escape. However, he couldn’t bear to leave the formulas and workings written on the pieces of paper.
The calculations written on the pieces of paper were done by Lin Li for the sake of concocting the Tribute of Darkness, which was a potion that was of the peak-Guru-level and required the best pharmaceutical preparation techniques.
“Yeah.” Lin Li expressed assent, but did not turn around or pause in his actions.
“Master Felic, could you let me copy your notes?” Markelyle asked, appearing rather embarrassed. He had just been chiding Lin Li and saying that Lin Li had a death wish, yet he asked to copy Lin Li notes now. It was truly a slap in his own face. However, he knew very well that he ought to swallow his pride without hesitation at times. With those notes, he would definitely see a huge improvement in his level of pharmaceutics. What was pride compared to that?
“Take them away, don’t bother me,” Lin Li said impatiently. To him, those were just wastepaper which he would throw away sooner or later.
Lin Li’s unfriendly reply seemed like music to Markelyle’s ears as he immediately started picking up the pieces like a vacuum cleaner with excitement written all over his face. The notes on the table and ground, as well as those in the waste paper pile, were like treasures to Markelyle who felt like he had entered a huge treasure vault. The more notes he found, the more excited he got.
In the next few days, there was a new cleaner in the laboratory who worked hard and meticulously picked up every piece of paper in the laboratory, not missing a single one at all. He was more serious than any other cleaner.
A few days later, Lin Li completed all the calculations and experiments. Feeling that he was confident enough, he immediately began to concoct the Tribute of Darkness. At this point, Markelyle finally discovered that the young pharmacist, Lin Li, was already a pharmaceutics Guru, and was going to take on the challenge of creating the Tribute of Darkness which was said to have made pharmaceutics Gurus helpless.
Due to the fact that he had already made preparations beforehand, there were no accidents or slip-ups. Sendros and Markelyle watched the entire concoction process, which they had gained a lot of knowledge from.
Seven days had passed in the blink of an eye. Sendros had been living each day in fear until he saw Lin Li adding the last herb that caused the potion in the flask to slowly change into the appearance of the legendary potion.
“Master Sendros and dear High Priests, thank you for the hospitality for the past few days!” Lin Li said to Sendros and the rest who were seeing him off in the obsidian square outside the Darkness Shrine.
“Master Felic, you deserve the most credit this time. Not only did you help the Darkness Shrine survive this catastrophe, you even concocted the Tribute of Darkness. Regardless of whether you’re willing to acknowledge that identity or not, you’ll always be the closest friend of the Darkness Shrine, and we’ll welcome you as a guest at any time,” Sendros said with some inconcealable agitation. At this moment, the Tribute of Darkness was about his body, and it was the key to the Sanctuary-realm.
Lin Li waved his hand and did not say anything. Instead, he used Power of Flight to fly towards the Night Canyon. Although he had given the Darkness Shrine great help this time, he had also made plenty of gains for himself. He’d managed to revive the Seed of Eternity and advance to level-24. He had also received some guidance from Rogge, and gained some enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm. During the process of preparing the Tribute of Darkness, he had also improved significantly in terms of pharmaceutics. In fact, he had gained a lot from the trip this time.
After leaving the Night Canyon, Lin Li did not immediately return to the Tower of Dusk, but headed to Sparta, the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, instead. The Tower of Dusk was developing well and going strong. Hence, he didn’t have to worry about it. His main focus now was on improving his personal strength and preparing for the future.
The city of Sparta, which was the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, was helmed by Archbishop Englos, who was the leader of the four archbishops, in order to protect the Ledin Kingdom. He was tasked with it by the Brilliance Shrine, but of course, whether it was protection or surveillance would depend on one’s perspective.
After the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine issued that decree, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk in the Ledin Kingdom developed rather smoothly, and they managed to dominate a large portion of the market for potions and magical equipment during the time that Lin Li was in the Darkness Shrine. Currently, the Tower of Dusk was operating several large-scale shops which sold the potions and magic equipment produced by the Tower of Dusk.
After Lin Li arrived in Sparta, the first thing he did was to visit a few shops and check on the business situation. Although he couldn’t give them any guidance—he was self-aware enough not to—he also informed the Tower of Dusk of his whereabouts, which was more important, and told them to refrain from looking for him at the Darkness Shrine.
After leaving the businesses of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li walked along the clean and wide streets like a leisurely stroll, and made his way to the Dawn Cathedral which was the center of Sparta. Due to the massive size of Sparta, there were dozens of Churches of Dawn in the Brilliance Shrine. The Dawn Cathedral, which was in the middle of the city, was the place where Archbishop Englos managed the teaching affairs.
Lin Li did not attract much attention when he arrived in front of the Dawn Cathedral. After all, there were too many believers of the Holy Light who visited the church every day. However, before Lin Li asked the pastor of the church to inform Englos of his arrival, Englos had already come out to welcome him smilingly. This time, it caught the attention of everyone, and they began guessing the identity of Lin Li, the young man who was dressed as a mage and actually managed to get Archbishop Englos to welcome him personally.
“Felic, I knew you were here. It’s only been a while since we met, and yet you’ve already…” When Lin Li was approaching the Dawn Cathedral, Englos had long felt the strong mana fluctuations when he arrived, and he had also speculated that it was Lin Li. However, when he really met Lin Li, he was shocked by the aura that was exuded by him. He looked around, and said to Lin Li, “Let’s go, let’s go in and talk.”
Lin Li followed Englos to the back of the cathedral, where Englos introduced the two people beside him. One of them was Cardinal Sodorma who was in charge of the diocese in Sparta and was Archbishop Englos’ assistant. The other was Brilliance Knight Havalon, who was in charge of the armed forces of the Brilliance Shrine in the diocese of Sparta.
Sodorma and Havalon, both less than 40 years old, should be considered the promising role models for youths because they managed to rise to their current positions at such a young age. According to the rules of the Brilliance Shrine, those positions had to be taken up by those with Legendary-level abilities. The two of them were naturally no exception. Having Legendary-level abilities at this age was an incredible feat, and they must have grown up with the clout of being geniuses.
However, their young age was also the reason for their lack of knowledge about the poisoning of Pope Rosario, even though they were of high status in the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they were extremely curious about the young mage Lin Li, whom the superiors of the Brilliance Shrine had constantly been talking about.
Of course, they didn’t doubt the authenticity of those compliments that Lin Li was showered with, as the superiors of the Brilliance Shrine wouldn’t all be dense and foolish. They didn’t feel indignant or unconvinced, either, because that would be too naive for their age. However, deep down, they still found it all a little unbelievable.
After looking at Lin Li’s youthful appearance and feeling the powerful magical waves that were emanating from his body, Sodorma and Havalon couldn’t help but be shocked. Had Englos not revealed Lin Li’s age a long time ago, the two of them would have thought that the young man in front of them was simply an old fogy in disguise. They thought, He’s only in his early twenties, but his magical wave is probably on par with that of Archbishop Englos. Is this young mage really human!?
“Bishop Sodorma, Knight Commander Havalon, it’s an honor to meet you,” Lin Li greeted the two politely after hearing Englos’ introduction.
“Oh, Master Felic, hello.” Sodorma and Havalon frantically greeted Lin Li as if they had suddenly snapped back to reality.
Englos understood the reason for his subordinates’ behavior; hence, he was not bothered by their momentary slip-up. Instead, he smiled and allowed Lin Li to take a seat. “Felic, please have a seat. Don’t mind them, even I was also taken aback by your change when I saw you just now. I remember that when you went to the Darkness Shrine, you should have reached level-23. I really wonder what you encountered in the Darkness Shrine to have achieved such a huge breakthrough in a short amount of time.”
“I have Master Sendros to thank for this. His guidance and permission for me to read the Darkness scriptures allowed me to advance greatly,” said Lin Li. He wasn’t too worried when he was talking about Sendros and the Darkness Shrine, because he knew that Englos and Sendros had a strong friendship.
“I’m very clear of that ghoul’s[1] abilities, and I definitely don’t doubt that his guidance could help you advance. However, I am afraid that you did not just advance in level. If I’m not wrong, you should have already seen that door, haven’t you?” Englos asked with a look of anticipation as he glanced at Lin Li, who was somewhat similar to Sendros back then.
Upon hearing Englos’ question, Sodorma and Havalon immediately kept their eyes fixed on Lin Li. They knew what Englos meant, and thus their hearts were ricocheting as they looked at Lin Li. The Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril were mostly from the end of the Dark Age, and the things that they had experienced were like myths to most people. Although Lin Li’s answer had nothing to do with the two of them, being able to witness the birth of a myth seemed to be an extremely glorious thing to them.
Under the gaze of the three of them, Lin Li nodded, and said, “Yes, but I didn’t get a clear glimpse.”
Lin Li’s answer was very gentle and calm, but it sounded like thunder in the ears of Englos and the other two. Sodom and Havalon both seemed to be breathing quickly, and even their bodies were quivering slightly and uncontrollably. For most people, getting to the Sanctuary-realm was simply a delusion and a fantasy—even for most Legendary powerhouses. However, a person who was going to advance from the Legendary-realm to the Sanctuary-realm was right in front of them. Even though they could only fulfill their dreams vicariously through someone else, it was enough to make them feel extremely excited.
Englos did not ask Lin Li too many questions about his experience in the Darkness Shrine. As a longtime friend of Sendros, he was well aware of how embarrassing it would feel for the person being asked. Hence, after asking about some insignificant matters, Englos switched the topic, and began talking about another interest of his. He took out a notebook and asked Lin Li some questions about pharmaceutics.
Sodorma and Havalon were already on the verge of breaking down as Archbishop Englos was behaving like a completely different person in front of them now. He was no longer as solemn and stern as he usually was. At this moment, he was holding his notebook in one hand and a pen in the other while asking various questions and taking notes quickly and attentively like a diligent and studious elementary student.
Sodorma and Havalon did not understand pharmaceutics much, hence their lack of interest. Although they were surprised that Englos was consulting Lin Li, it wasn’t as shocking as the information about the Sanctuary-realm. The two of them sat still for a while, but couldn’t help fidgeting later. They wondered how they would be dealt with since they had already seen Archbishop Englos behaving in such a manner today.
[1] This is stricte just a diss at Sendros and his looks.