Chapter 920: Sanctuary Aura
All the Souls of The Dead were shredded into pieces by a terrifying and intangible power instantaneously, and then into smaller pieces until they disappeared from the world. If not for the destroyed Teleportation Portal and dried up corpses from earlier on, everyone would think that this was just a nightmare they had dreamed.
Andoine and Rosen, who had come to rescue Lin Li’s team, immediately collapsed to the ground at the moment Lin Li released the groundbreaking aura. The aura annulled their Power of Flight, and they almost felt as if it was blasphemy to use the Power of Flight in front of Lin Li.
While others might not know why, Andoine and Rosen had interacted with the three arbitrators before. They immediately recognized that the aura they had felt from Lin Li was extremely similar to what they had felt from the arbitrators! It was as if heaven and earth followed his will, and the World Laws resolved around this single person irresistibly.
Could it be he had already reached Sanctuary-realm?! Thinking of that, Andoine and Rosen were stunned.
Andoine still remembered that when he had picked up Lin Li in the mountains a few years ago, Lin Li was still a magic-illiterate who didn’t even know how to meditate, and wasn’t even considered a mage apprentice. Although Andoine could see that Lin Li was extremely talented in magic, probably more so than Geresco, he couldn’t imagine that Lin Li would’ve reached Sanctuary-realm so fast.
After all, even the God of Mages, Geresco, only reached Sanctuary-realm at 30. That was coupled with his incredible talent in magic, belonging to an esteemed family of mages, and receiving high-quality magic education from a young age. On the other hand, Lin Li only used a few years to reach the peak of magic abilities from being an amateur. That speed was something Geresco couldn’t compare to.
Other than shock, Andoine felt more pleasantly surprised. After all, he was the one who had found Lin Li and introduced him to the world of magic. Seeing that his student had achieved so much, Andoine naturally felt a sense of accomplishment.
Rosen, who was standing beside Andoine, looked extremely glum. Much as he didn’t want to believe that Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm, he couldn’t find another explanation for the suppressive aura he had just experienced. Now he finally understood why the three arbitrators thought so highly to Lin Li. It was because Lin Li had already reached the same level as the arbitrators.
If Rosen had known Lin Li had reached Sanctuary-realm, he wouldn’t have suggested that proposal no matter what. He had thought that with his status in the Supreme Council, he could crush Lin Li like an ant, and didn’t treat him seriously at all. It turned out that Rosen was the ant! Recalling what happened during the meeting that day, Rosen felt like he was a clown, utterly disgusted by what he had done.
Rosen felt like he had aged a lot at that moment. He didn’t have any desire to fight for power anymore. This wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but rather because he knew everything would be futile. The difference in abilities between Lin Li and him couldn’t be made up for by sheer trickery or plotting.
Moreover, with the relationship between Lin Li and Andoine, Rosen was clear that he couldn’t fight with Andoine at all given that Andoine had a Sanctuary-realm supporter.
Not to mention fighting with Andoine, Rosen could even guess why the three arbitrators chose to meet Lin Li. Once Lin Li stabilized his standing in the Supreme Council, Rosen could totally imagine how miserable his own life would be.
Unlike Andoine and Rosen, Joey and those around Lin Li didn’t think about Lin Li reaching the Sanctuary-realm at all, even though they were equally shaken by the aura Lin Li had released just now. After all, Hahnar had only just stepped into the Legendary-realm, while the others were all Archmages. Thus, they didn’t have a clear understanding of what Sanctuary-realm power looked like.
However, Joey and the rest were still very shocked by the power Lin Li had displayed. With a gentle tap of his finger, tens of Legendary-level Souls of The Dead as well hundreds of close-to-Legendary-level Souls of The Dead all perished in a flash. This kind of power was unimaginable to these people. As for whether it was the peak of Legendary-level or Sanctuary-realm power, it wasn’t too different to them.
They recollected what had happened when Canuman challenged Lin Li at the hall. It was then that they finally realized why Lin Li acted so harsh. Judging from Lin Li’s power just now, Lin Li could have easily defeated Canuman even if Arbitrator Apophis hadn’t appeared.
“Felic!”
Seeing that Lin Li had dealt with all the Souls of The Dead and retracted his mana and aura, Andoine hurried towards him and stared at him with a weird expression. He complained, “You lad, when have you reached this level? I didn’t even know about it, and have worried about you for a long time!”
Lin Li rubbed his nose and smiled at Andoine without appearing any different from before. “Haha, it’s all because of your good teaching as well as a little luck on my side.”
When Rosen came to Andoine’s side, he looked more composed, but he didn’t say anything. This wasn’t because he didn’t want to say anything, but rather because he couldn’t totally control his very complicated feelings. Even if he were to say any words of flattery, it would inevitably bring out his true emotions. As such, it was better to stay silent.
Luckily, Andoine didn’t talk long to Lin Li. They didn’t talk about the Sanctuary-realm in too much detail, and only briefly talked about the situation of the Calamity. If not, it would be too awkward for Rosen standing at the side.
After Andoine and Rosen left, Lin Li and Joey’s team came to the Teleportation Portal. Everything that happened just now seemed only like an interlude to this journey, but everyone now looked at Lin Li with more awe and respect.
Only the mana source of the Teleportation Portal was damaged by the Souls of The Dead. This wasn’t a big problem to Lin Li at all. After replacing the mana source with a random magical crystal he had taken out, the Teleportation Portal was back online.
With a spark, Lin Li and the team disappeared behind the Teleportation Portal. At that moment, the mages who had heard the alarm reached the Teleportation Portal. Unfortunately, no one saw the scene where Lin Li killed off all the Souls of The Dead single-handedly.
“Who has released the aura just now? Did the arbitrators come?” A middle-aged Legendary-mage stood next to the corpses of those unfortunate mages. If not for these corpses, he would have thought the alarm was false.
“That’s too powerful! It must have been lords arbitrators. If not, how can someone chase away those Souls of The Dead so quickly?” Another Legendary-mage looked around. He didn’t sense any remnant of battle at all, so those Souls of The Dead had to have been chased away by absolute power. Out of the entire Supreme Council, he couldn’t think of anyone other than the three arbitrators who possessed such immense power.
“I saw President Felic of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy Plains walking in this direction just now. Could he be the one…”
“Impossible! The aura just now definitely belonged to a Sanctuary powerhouse. It’s possible that the arbitrators had struck because of him. He’s so lucky! With the arbitrators’ protection, he may even become a high-ranking councilor someday.”
No matter what was being said in the Sky Garden, Lin Li and the team had arrived at the Teleportation Portal in Alanna Guild of Magic. Macklin, who had been teleported here earlier, was already standing outside of the Teleportation Portal. He walked towards Lin Li immediately after seeing him appear, convincing Lin Li to stay for a few days no matter what.
Seeing that Lin Li and Macklin were very close to each other, even cracking bad jokes about each other, Joey’s and Hahnar’s facial muscles twitched. Before this, they wouldn’t have felt so strongly about this, as they thought that Lin Li was just a President of a Guild of Magic just like them.
However, it was different now. The aura that Lin Li had released during the Calamity felt as if it was heaven’s will, and was still fresh in their memory. Looking at Lin Li joking casually with Macklin, they couldn’t associate the two images together. It was as if seeing an elegant and sacred goddess at one moment, and then seeing her dig her toes and spurting vulgarities the next. That strong contrast almost made them want to vomit blood.
Although he was chatting with Macklin, Lin Li didn’t forget about his promise to Joey. He asked Macklin for a suitable place, and took out five Magical Crystal Cannons and a few boxes full of magical crystals from his Ring of Endless Storm.
Even Macklin’s eyes shone upon seeing all these things. Although Alanna Guild of Magic was quite wealthy, most of their resources were directed towards training mages. Thus, items like the Magical Crystal Cannons were still considered luxury items for them.
As for Joey and Mason, they knew Lin Li wasn’t boasting when he promised them the items. However, the shock they felt when seeing these items in front of their own eyes was still immense, and they couldn’t control their excitement.
As a Guild of Magic, it would be a lie to say that they weren’t angry that they were constantly harassed by a group of lowly pirates. However, they couldn’t do anything about it given the limited ability of the two guilds. Not to mention the pirates, even the other factions in Chevan City had slowly stopped to respect the Guild of Magic because of their incapability.
If used well, these five Magical Crystal Cannons would be enough to exterminate these pirates completely. They could also pose a threat to other factions, securing the guild’s utmost status in Chevan City. Although it wasn’t too honorable to use an external item as a threat, at least the mages in the guild wouldn’t be disturbed by the outside world frequently, and could research magic in peace.
Seeing that Lin Li was so generous, Macklin had to do something to help too. After all, Alanna Guild of Magic was also the headquarters to all Guilds of Magic. How could it just sit back when a guild under it was bullied? As such, Macklin remarked with assurance that the Alanna Council would send mages to guard the Magical Crystal Cannons when Joey and his team were transporting them back, and also to help the Chevan City Guild of Magic annihilate the pirates.
After Joey and his team left for their respective guilds, Lin Li still remained at the Alanna Guild of Magic. However, as there was still much for him to attend to, he only stayed for three days before bidding farewell to Aldwin.
It had only been 10-odd days since Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk for the Sky Tower together with Arbitrator Chris. However, the change in the Tower of Dusk was obvious.
The news that Lin Li had reached Sanctuary-realm had been quickly dismissed as a hoax at the so-called centers of the magic civilization, but it had become widespread in the Breezy Plains. After the meeting held at the Tower of Dusk last time, countless large to medium-scaled factions had been subdued. Under such circumstances, no one would doubt the authenticity of this piece of news. If Lin Li wasn’t a Sanctuary powerhouse, how could he subdue all these powerful factions?
Now, the Tower of Dusk’s businesses in the Breezy Plains had reached a new high that no other faction could ever dream of exceeding. No faction dared to harass the Tower of Dusk at all. Of course, Lin Li wouldn’t really ruin the other factions’ businesses. He still chose collaboration as his main strategy. After all, the Tower of Dusk still couldn’t monopolize the Breezy Plains’ businesses given its current level of development.
However, the economic aspect wouldn’t change much in a mere dozen days. One could only see an increase in the business agreements signed. The most obvious difference in the Tower of Dusk had to do with the Guild of Magic’s members.
All around the Tower of Dusk, residential areas were built for the mages to reside in. When Lin Li had left, less than a quarter of the residential areas were occupied. However, when Lin Li came back over a dozen days later, the number of mages living there had increased exponentially.
Before that, the mages joining the Tower of Dusk were mostly Doland locals, and only occasionally came from other areas. This was a common phenomenon as any faction would try to retain talents within their own territory. Thus, fighting for territory wasn’t just for resources, but also talents indispensable for the development of a faction.
Although the Tower of Dusk was already quite famous before this, and offered excellent treatment to its mages, many mages still chose to stay in their local factions. Why was that so?