"Hmph! You're lucky!"
Stewart shot Leilin a resentful glance before his entire body dissolved into several wisps of black smoke and dispersed.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Leilin adjusted his clothes, his face devoid of any emotion, making it impossible for Bophiel to read a single expression.
"You… you… you…"
Bophiel stammered, his pointing finger trembling: "You actually blocked Lord Stewart's strike? He's a Fifth-rank Radiance Moon
Bophiel's mind was tossed by stormy waves. Leilin had reached the fifth star — what did that even mean?
Among the Morning Stars of the Central Continent, those whose energy intensity had reached the fifth star numbered fewer than thirty. This meant that Leilin now stood at the very pinnacle of all Morning Stars across the entire Central Continent.
Moreover, he had been able to block a Fifth-rank Radiance Moon strike? Bophiel looked at Leilin, increasingly feeling that the man was a genius or monster on par with Wells.
"Young Wells! You've found your match!" Bophiel thought bitterly to himself, then stepped forward, looking at Leilin with a somewhat helpless expression.
"Let's hurry — we shouldn't keep His Highness waiting!"
Leilin said, with a tone of perfect understanding.
He had already figured out Stewart's intentions. The sudden appearance was clearly meant to catch him off guard. If Stewart could apprehend him directly, all the better. Even if that failed, the incident would plant a seed of distrust in his mind, which could be expressed during the audience with the Sky Throne — and that would be the end of Leilin.
Leilin certainly had enough patience for this. Although he already regarded Stewart as a dead man in his heart, he showed nothing of the sort on his face.
"Oh! Right! We can't keep His Highness waiting!" Bophiel snapped back to his senses.
After passing through the garden district, they came upon a vast array of exquisitely complex buildings linked together to form a flawless circuitous structure.
White marble pillars were adorned with green vines, but when the Chip scanned them, it returned a wealth of magical circuits.
"This kind of construction?"
Leilin was startled, recalling a certain structure he had seen in the Grand Library before: "Could it be a Perpetual Wheel?"
"Yes! It's the Perpetual Wheel — a legendary device said to move perpetually without any external energy source!"
Bophiel's voice carried a note of wistfulness: "The Sages of our
"Unfortunately, it's still a ways off from the legendary perpetual-motion energy supply. This Floating Garden still requires 9,826 Magic Stones of energy every month, and we can't expand it to cover the entire floating city…"
"To think that consuming only this much energy can sustain the Floating Garden for an entire month — that's already incredible!" An expression of admiration appeared on Leilin's face.
As for applying it to the entire floating city? If that were possible, the skies of the Central Continent would already be choked with floating cities, and Sky City wouldn't be the only one!
Leaving his admiration behind, Leilin entered the palace alone, leaving Bophiel outside. He had originally wanted to bring the other along, but Bophiel absolutely refused, leaving Leilin somewhat speechless — and also stunned by the majesty of the Sky Throne.
The towering white gate, standing dozens of meters high, was constructed entirely of jade, radiating a sacred and solemn aura. Standing before it, Leilin felt as though an ordinary person had suddenly found himself in the land of giants.
"Not a trace of magical or forbidden spell fluctuations?" A flicker of blue flashed through the depths of Leilin's eyes as he swept his gaze over the massive gate pillars and the colossal statues before them.
"Is it that I can't yet detect the Radiance Sun's arrangements, or… for the Sky Throne, such things simply no longer matter?"
Leilin was more inclined to believe the latter, though he rather wished the former were true.
"Still…" Leilin touched his white gloves as if drawing strength from them, took a deep breath, and approached the gate.
As if sensing Leilin's arrival, the gate burst open with a thunderous crash, revealing a vast empty space within.
CLANG!!! After Leilin stepped into the palace, the gate slammed shut behind him, its tremendous echo reverberating through the hall.
"This place?"
Leilin looked around in some astonishment, discovering that this was a colossal hall. On both walls hung numerous religious oil paintings, most depicting scenes of human wizards battling alien races, with the occasional demon or similar creature. The further inward he looked, the more abstract the paintings became, until the last ones were nothing more than meaningless lines and strokes.
Directly opposite Leilin was a colossal carving: a human figure with six pairs of wings emerging from an enormous shell, flanked by angels blowing sacred trumpets and handmaidens scattering flower petals.
The lines of the entire sculpture were remarkably lifelike and vivid, imbued with a sense of living dynamism.
The statue's eyes, forged from black pearls, seemed almost alive as they gazed down at Leilin.
"Leilin Farell!" A resonant voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Hmm?!" Leilin abruptly turned his gaze toward the statue of the handsome six-winged male.
The statue's eyes were fixed on Leilin, radiating amusement.
Crack! Crack! The statue suddenly moved, tearing through the plaster on the wall, and stepped out from the shell.
With his descent, the entire hall seemed to come alive, separating from the outside world to form two distinct domains.
"Leilin Farell! Greetings to His Highness the Sky Throne!" How could Leilin possibly fail to understand the other's identity at this point? Even though the other had only come in the form of an avatar, Leilin bowed with utmost respect — his etiquette and movements were flawless beyond reproach, and his expression was filled with humble deference.
Before a power he could not yet hope to rival, Leilin was perfectly willing to show his reverence. Moreover, the other was a pioneer on the path of truth, deserving of both his respect and study.
"Leilin! You are very good! I apologize for Stewart's earlier discourtesy!" A gentle voice emanated from the male statue.
At the same time, Leilin sensed the other's gaze lingering briefly on his earrings and both gloves, which stirred something in his heart. He was surprised by the other's keen observation.
"Have you come this time seeking the constitution enhancement from the Secret Energy Scepter? I can grant your wish directly!"
The six-winged statue spoke slowly. Leilin's mind stirred, but he had other ideas: "No, Your Highness. Only Sages may touch the Secret Energy Scepter — that is the tradition of the entire Sky City! Leilin would not wish to break it. Rather, I hope to obtain this honor through an upright and dignified path!"
"..."
This answer had clearly exceeded the other's expectations. Leilin's expression shifted as he felt a vast yet subtle force sweep across his body.
His face remained impassive, but the Chip had already activated at full power.
Before today, he might have worried about his secrets being exposed. But now, not only had the Chip been upgraded, the other had only sent an avatar. If he still couldn't keep his secrets hidden under these conditions, Leilin might as well give up.
Aside from the things he had deliberately allowed the other to discover, not a single deeper secret had leaked.
The subtle energy retracted swiftly. Clearly, this Sky Throne had not discovered anything either.
"You are good! Very good indeed!" After a long pause, words finally came from the stone statue.
"Your Highness! I am willing to offer the coordinates of the Magma World!" Seeing that the other seemed about to leave after this brief meeting, Leilin gritted his teeth and produced a gift he had long prepared — a gleaming coordinate marker that flew autonomously to the statue's side.
"Hmm?!"
The six-winged male statue did not catch it immediately but instead fixed his gaze on Leilin: "Leilin, I'm sure you understand the preciousness of other worlds. Offering such a treasure — what do you want in return?"
"Respected Your Highness, I only hope that the forces of Sky City will remain neutral when the Ouroboros Ring and Jupiter's Thunder come into conflict!"
Leilin said with great humility.
"Neutral?!" Leilin felt the other's gaze linger on his hands for a long time before the Sky Throne's voice finally came: "I agree!"
...
"My Lord! A Mr. Leilin wishes to see you!"
In Wells's room, a shadow suddenly materialized and knelt to report.
"Leilin?" Wells raised his still-youthful face, a flash of shock passing through his eyes. "Wasn't he going to have an audience with His Highness? He came out that quickly? And the first person he comes to see is me?"
Though somewhat surprised, Wells still gave the order: "Show him in… No! I'll go greet him personally!"
"Wells! Would you like to deal with Stewart?"
The moment Leilin entered the room, he got straight to the point.
"W-what?" Wells's smile immediately froze on his face. "Are you insane? Why would I want to deal with a Radiance Moon Wizard from our own organization?"
"Oh really? I had the feeling you wouldn't let someone who plotted against you off the hook. And besides…"
Leilin smiled and pointed, and a luminous blue screen materialized in the air.
On the screen were two figures in conversation, one of whom — a sinister-faced old man — was none other than Stewart!
At this moment, Stewart's eyes were filled with fury: "You deceived me! That Leilin is a fifth-star Warlock! Dealing with him will cost far more — Jesiah must pay a price that satisfies me!"
Before him stood a Morning Star shrouded entirely in shadow, half-bowed before the Radiance Moon Wizard in a posture of great humility: "Lord Jesiah said that Stewart is his friend of many years, and that he would certainly help with this. Besides… didn't our previous plan to frame Wells almost succeed?"
Wells's expression had already changed several times upon hearing that Leilin was a fifth-star practitioner, but by the time the latter part came, his entire face had turned grim.