Chapter 190: Suppression
Unfortunately, Saedus had sensed danger too early, and didn't give Leon the answer he wanted...
Leon had always wanted to know what exactly Rudolph did back then to earn Saedus’s hatred. Not only did Saedus break free of his restraints when that Heaven-Tier Mage died, he even burned Rudolph’s corpse to ashes. After all, Rudolph and Saedus had spent centuries—maybe even a thousand years—together. What could have made Saedus go so far?
But now, Leon had already suppressed Saedus with five Magi Array Cores...
This Prime Flame Sprite wouldn’t be able to speak again for at least a month. By then, Leon would have inscribed all sorts of runes on him, fully integrating Saedus with himself—no more fear of repeating Rudolph’s tragedy.
As for before that...
"Um, Magus Salomon, do you think we should..."
"Let’s head back, let’s head back..." Salomon interrupted Leon before he could finish. He was clearly eager to leave—the sudden appearance of Darren had startled him so badly that he had no desire to keep exploring this sub-plane.
Fortunately, by now Leon had successfully captured Saedus. The portal linked to the Alchemy Array was no longer spewing endless frost elementals. It took them about ten minutes to clear the corridor of all the frost, and then they left this secret-laden sub-plane together...
But even Salomon didn’t know that, at the very instant the pathway between planes opened, Leon uttered five characters that no one had ever seen before...
Those five characters came from the Death Tome—one for positioning, three to open the pathway between planes, and the last... not even Salomon could have imagined its purpose. It was a delayed trigger; three minutes later, it would activate and destroy the original planar route, cutting off all hope of ever entering this sub-plane again.
In other words...
With just five characters, Leon had seized the sub-plane Rudolph left behind. From now on, the Death Tome would be the only key to this realm.
Just as Leon had said from the beginning...
"Do you really think I’d leave an entire plane to the Ashen Tower?"
................
After returning to the Ashen Tower, Leon borrowed the Arcanavine Cultivation Manual from Salomon and painstakingly copied it in his own room. Among the three or four hundred magic books Salomon owned, this was the one Leon valued most. For a mage tower, Arcanavine might be a luxury—profitable, but not essential.
But for Leon, Arcanavine was absolutely indispensable.
Now that Leon had fully seized the sub-plane Rudolph left behind, he only held the pathway for now, and had explored just a fraction of the tower. But one day, he would control the entire sub-plane—maybe even follow in the footsteps of the legendary Star Arcanist Agalon.
At that point, Arcanavine would be truly indispensable—the mana needed to nurture a sub-plane far exceeds what any ordinary mage could provide.
Just look at Rudolph—a Heaven-Tier Mage, yet his sub-plane was barren. It’s not that he didn’t know how to manage it, but a sub-plane’s growth demands far too much mana. For example, simply stabilizing the four major elements—water, fire, wind, and earth—requires the power of a peak Heaven-Tier Mage. Without Arcanavine to supply that mana, if Leon had to rely on himself alone, who knows how many years it would take for this sub-plane to truly flourish...
Of course, it’s still far too early to talk about all this...
Until he’s fully explored the sub-plane, Leon doesn’t dare act rashly—especially with that True Spirit Alchemical Array in the tower’s main hall. That kind of array equals the power of a Title Archmage; anything suppressed by that level of magic is bound to be dangerous.
Leon figured he’d need to become at least a fifth-rank Archmage before he’d have the strength to touch that array. Until then, it was best not to make any reckless moves.
Besides, he didn’t even have any Arcanavine seeds.
It wasn’t until nearly dawn that Leon finished copying the Arcanavine Cultivation Manual. Planning for the future, he yawned and drifted off to sleep...
The next morning, just as the sun was rising, Joey arrived...
"Leon, get up."
"So early?" Leon mumbled as he opened the door, finding Joey outside—and beside him, Salomon, just as bleary-eyed.
"Why do you both look half-asleep?" Joey glanced at Leon, then at Salomon, genuinely puzzled.
...Salomon nearly choked on his own spit. How was he supposed to answer? He couldn’t exactly tell Joey he’d spent the night playing thief, could he?
Fortunately, Leon had a thick enough skin to come up with an excuse after a long pause: "Maybe it’s just the climate..."
"The climate?"
"Yeah, yeah, the climate..."
"Never mind..." Joey shook his head. He knew perfectly well that wasn’t the real reason, but as a peak Title Archmage, it wasn’t worth digging into trivial matters. He shot Salomon a warning look, then nodded at Leon: "Most of the Order of the Arcane Hand is here. Come with me."
"Oh, sure..." Leon quickly tidied himself up and followed Joey to the tenth floor of the Ashen Tower, into the largest banquet hall.
As hosts of this Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering, the Ashen Tower had clearly made thorough preparations. The hall wasn’t extravagantly decorated, but at great expense, they’d created the understated comfort mages loved—alchemy golems as servers, hundreds of fixed Light Spells for illumination, and even the most ordinary wineglass was a crystal workshop masterpiece. The whole hall was suffused with magical energy...
"That’s Morg, master of Howling Isle, known as the Hurricane Envoy and a Title Archmage. Over there is an elder of the Fane Family from Qiyan City—he became a Title Archmage centuries ago, probably more senior than me or Osul. And that’s the Lord of Shadows, Darren’s teacher; he was the fiercest opponent when we discussed your admission to the Order yesterday..." Joey whispered introductions to Leon as they entered.
So this really was the Order of the Arcane Hand... Leon was secretly awed. Every mage Joey introduced was a top-tier figure in the kingdom’s magical world; together, their combined power could overturn the kingdom itself.
"Oh, and Nolan from Mercury Tower—his apprentice, Karon, you’ve met before. You worked together on Vanrison’s Formulas."
"Oh..." Leon followed Joey’s gaze and saw an elderly man with white hair and beard, smiling kindly and nodding at him.
It seemed Karon must have spoken well of Leon to Nolan after returning, or else Nolan wouldn’t be showing such goodwill here. Leon smiled and nodded back, thinking to himself.
"Joey, long time no see." As they spoke, a middle-aged mage approached from afar.
The mage looked to be in his forties, handsome and upright, with perfectly groomed hair. Though a bit pale, his smile was warm and approachable—even Leon couldn’t help but feel a bit of goodwill, unconsciously comparing him to Joey...
Of course, there was no contest.
Joey was always in a wrinkled, stained gray robe—next to this mage, he looked practically like a beggar.
"Heron, step aside, I’ve got business." Joey’s smile vanished as soon as he saw who it was, and he led Leon away.
"Master Joey..." Leon was curious, but hesitated, unsure whether to ask.
"That’s Heron, Chairman of the Black Tower Council. He’s been a ninth-rank Title Archmage for over a century. Don’t let his youthful looks fool you—he’s actually several centuries old. He absorbed the essence of the Azure Tree in the Azure Plane to stay young. A ninth-rank Title Archmage, always dressing flamboyantly and proud of it. Shameless old corpse..."
...
The two walked through the banquet hall and soon found Oswald...
"How are things, Oswald?"
"No problem. Since yesterday, I’ve contacted all the members and suggested some exchanges. Most agreed to let Leon join the Order of the Arcane Hand. But they’ll likely have some questions for Leon to make sure he knows the magic they need—you know the rules, Joey."
"Mm." Joey nodded and patted Leon on the shoulder. "It’s up to you now."
"No problem." Leon wasn’t worried at all. When it came to magical theory, there was no one in this era who could stump him.
******
I’ll try to finish the next chapter before midnight!