Chapter 268: Go or Not?
The Bloodstone that my cousin gave me already had eleven formulas, and when he handed it over, he repeatedly reminded me not to use Bloodstone as my core Meditation Codex. Once I fully mastered Bloodstone, he said he'd give me an even more powerful Meditation Codex. Only then, he said, would it be time to choose my true core Meditation Codex.
Compared to that, what’s a Meditation Codex with just nine formulas?
To William Merlin, Salomon was just making a fuss over nothing. If my cousin said to keep it, then just keep it. Why all the chest-thumping drama? And he’s a ninth-level Archmage? Losing his composure over a nine-formula Meditation Codex—doesn’t he feel embarrassed?
Honestly, you couldn’t really blame William Merlin for this…
After all, William Merlin was just a Grand Mage.
When he left Auckland for Seaview City, William Merlin was only a fifth-level Grand Mage, and the Meditation Codexes he’d seen probably didn’t even add up to ten.
William Merlin knew that the more formulas in a Meditation Codex, the better.
But how much better…
Honestly, William Merlin really didn’t know. In fact, even the Bloodstone Meditation Codex that Leon taught him, with its ten formulas and first-rate effects, was just something he knew was powerful and impressive. Beyond that, he had no idea.
Just how powerful? Just how impressive? William Merlin had never really thought about it that much…
So now, seeing Salomon so flustered, William Merlin genuinely couldn’t understand it. It was just a nine-formula Meditation Codex—why such a big reaction?
William Merlin even thought that this old man, stuck in Seaview City, really hadn’t seen much of the world. If he told him that his own Meditation Codex had ten formulas, the guy would probably faint on the spot…
Wait, hold on…
As William Merlin thought about it, he suddenly realized something seemed off…
The old man may have stayed in Seaview City, but he wasn’t exactly sheltered…
His teacher was none other than the famous Star Sage!
Could it be that a nine-formula Meditation Codex was really that incredible?
At that thought, William Merlin started to get a little restless…
"Um, Salomon Archmage, can I ask—how many formulas are in your Cloudspire Tower’s core Meditation Codex?"
"Why are you asking about this?" Salomon shot William Merlin a wary look, but then remembered—this was Leon’s cousin. With Leon’s standards, who didn’t even care for the Star-Moon Radiance, his cousin surely wasn’t lacking Meditation Codexes. Salomon’s expression softened a little at the thought. "Just like the Star-Moon Radiance, it also contains nine formulas..."
"Then..." William Merlin nearly jumped up at Salomon’s words. After forcing down his excitement, he swallowed hard. "So, what if... I mean, just hypothetically, what if a Meditation Codex had ten formulas—would it..."
"Ten formulas? Heh, that would be the number one Meditation Codex in all of Andalusia Kingdom!" Salomon sneered.
... William Merlin sucked in a sharp breath on the spot.
The number one Meditation Codex in all of Andalusia Kingdom!
He was actually studying the kingdom’s top Meditation Codex!
William Merlin felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, standing there in a daze, his eyes completely unfocused, muttering under his breath, "Number one Meditation Codex... number one Meditation Codex... number one Meditation Codex..."
"What’s wrong with you?" Salomon waited for a long time but got no response, feeling a bit puzzled.
"Ah, it’s nothing, nothing..." Still lost in shock, William Merlin finally snapped back when Salomon asked, brushing him off distractedly before wandering away with a dazed expression.
"What’s his problem..."
Right now, William Merlin couldn’t care less about Salomon’s reaction. The Merlin Family’s magical prodigy was completely absorbed in the shock of the Bloodstone Meditation Codex.
When William Merlin first started learning the Bloodstone Meditation Codex, he’d asked his cousin why its effects were so powerful—after just a few months, he’d jumped from a fifth-level Grand Mage to a ninth-level Grand Mage.
William Merlin remembered his cousin telling him not to get too obsessed with the effects of Bloodstone—it had its flaws. Nine formulas weren’t enough to fully unlock its power. Leon taught it to him just to lay the groundwork; once he mastered Bloodstone, Leon would teach him a codex that could fully unleash its potential. Only then would he choose his core Meditation Codex...
Back then, William Merlin never imagined that a Meditation Codex his cousin called flawed could be this powerful...
That was Salomon’s own verdict—the kingdom’s number one Meditation Codex...
For a moment, William Merlin was at a loss for words. If the kingdom’s top codex was considered flawed by his cousin, then the one Leon would teach him next—the one that could fully unlock Bloodstone’s power—how strong would that be?
Thinking about all this, William Merlin looked at Leon with newfound awe...
William Merlin felt he no longer understood his younger cousin. He’d thought he knew Leon well, but now, looking back, it seemed Leon was shrouded in countless mysteries...
Thank goodness, thank goodness...