Chapter 377 No Need for Theories

Shaoke didn't interrupt the conversation between the Blue-robed Female Mage and Female Mage Roman. Instead, he sat on a nearby chair, holding a cup of clear water and drinking it. The Ninth-Rank Space Mage began conversing with those from the Desasi Empire. Since neither side deliberately hid the content of their talk, Shaoke could still overhear it. They went over, again and again, how to resist the Mage Guild's operations here, but Shaoke wasn't interested in these matters, so he didn't join their discussion.

After a long while, the Blue-robed Female Mage stopped talking with Female Mage Roman and she also joined the discussion. Female Mage Roman and the others sat quietly beside Shaoke, smiling at the crowd. Of course, since this banquet was temporarily arranged by the mages and not conducted according to noble etiquette, there was no dance session.

As dawn approached, the Blue-robed Female Mage decided to leave and return to their outpost. Shaoke didn't object; he too wanted to head back as soon as possible to see if his residence was finished. This news delighted Female Mage Roman and the others, as they had been traveling for a long time without proper rest and now urgently needed a few days of good sleep.

The teleportation circle was located on the top floor of the mage tower. In the empty hall, only a large teleportation circle stood. After Shaoke and the others ascended, a Space Mage walked to a short pillar inlaid with purple crystals and began chanting a spell. As the mage chanted, the array emitted a soft white light, instantly whisking Shaoke and the others away. At that moment, a Nine-Rank mage who had been hosting them let out a soft sigh, then waved for the others to leave. He sat cross-legged beside the teleportation circle, silently performing his guard duty.

The mages appeared at the top of the massive, nearly hundred-story mage tower in the center of the plain. According to the Blue-robed Female Mage, it had been built shortly after Shaoke left. After making arrangements for Shaoke and the others to rest for a day, the Blue-robed Female Mage personally led them on a tour of the outpost. Their first stop was Shaoke's residence.

Shaoke's mage tower wasn't large; per his suggestion, the entire structure was a thirteen-story tower. The first floor was a living room for ordinary people, the second through fifth floors were a library, and the upper floors contained a tavern and spaces for cultivating various magical plants and herbs. The top floor was where the owner rested.

Shaoke was very satisfied with this mage tower because it was engraved with ninth-rank offensive and defensive spells from top to bottom. According to the Blue-robed Female Mage's design, this tower was also an important part of the entire outpost's defense system. Seeing all this, Female Mage Roman and the others happily thanked the Blue-robed Female Mage. As for Shaoke, he stood quietly on the top floor, gazing outside through the window.

"Are you unsatisfied with this?" the Blue-robed Female Mage asked, taking advantage of the moment when Female Mage Roman and the others were touring the tower to walk behind Shaoke. "I can have them modify it or build a new mage tower." She suddenly noticed that the Nine-Pointed Star Magic Array in Shaoke's eyes lasted longer than before. The array took a long time to slowly fade away, but it soon reappeared. This puzzled her, but she didn't inquire.

"It just feels a bit messy here; there are too few ordinary people," Shaoke said, still standing by the window looking out. "That means we have very few people with magical talent to choose from." He pointed at the scattered hills in the distance. "There's no need to have so many peaks. Not only is the area small, but it also consumes more effort during defense." He quickly expressed his thoughts, unconcerned whether the Blue-robed Female Mage would agree.

"We've already got nearly a few million people here," the Blue-robed Female Mage shook her head. Her vision couldn't fully encompass the plain formed by the surrounding peaks, but she could with magical enhancement. "We paid a heavy price to bring these people from other empires just for this population." She stepped closer to Shaoke, shifting the subject. She didn't want to discuss these matters with this mage.

"Are you close to them?" the Blue-robed Female Mage turned to look at Shaoke. "If so, treat them well. I really hope that Cleric can advance to become an Eighth-Rank Spellcaster." Her words were rudely cut off by Shaoke, but the Blue-robed Female Mage didn't say anything because the male mage often acted like this since advancing to a Ninth-Rank Professional. Other Ninth-order beings knew it was perhaps due to Shaoke's special cultivation, so they didn't mind.

Shaoke interrupted the Blue-robed Female Mage's words: "Have those Mage Guild guys come to harass our outpost? When did they come? We need to teach them a lesson." Again changing the subject, he pointed to his cloak. "This was successfully developed by Moxier and the others. And this." He took out the diamond-shaped runestone that the White-robed Cleric had placed in his magic bag and handed it to the Blue-robed Female Mage. "This might be useful to you. Maybe you should have Moxier and the others help you make more of these." As he finished speaking, Female Mage Roman and the others, led by a Seventh-Rank Mage, arrived at the top floor.

At Shaoke's signal, the Blue-robed Female Mage began discussing with Female Mage Roman the idea of crafting these magic items. The male mage then went alone to the lowest floor of the mage tower, where he would process some personal experimental materials. This floor had been specially built per his requirements, covering nearly a hundred acres.

After telling the others not to bother him, he shut the stone door. He then took out his experimental materials from his ring. He arranged black statues on the ground in a specific pattern. These statues were the Eighth-Order Practitioners he had killed with the Death Will spell. They had long since died, but Shaoke, inspired by some ancient arcane secrets he had obtained during his communion with heaven and earth, intended to experiment on them. He would not tell anyone about this experiment, not even Female Mage Roman.

The underground space actually had seven or eight levels, used to store magic materials for experiments. Therefore, a small elemental pool was also built below.

Of course, this elemental pool was the mutated form that Shaoke had developed, and it existed on this lowest level.

He arranged the statues according to different professions, then took out a large amount of magic powder and a mixture of precious magic materials to start drawing a magic array on an obsidian slab. He carved deep or shallow lines with a carving knife, then inscribed various magic script onto them. After finishing, he placed the array in one of the elemental pools and began chanting a spell—a language whose name he himself didn't know.

As time passed, black runes flew from his mouth. Without Shaoke noticing, the black crown on his forehead emitted a dark luster, which merged with the runes, making them appear even darker. However, the intently chanting mage didn't notice this. When the spell ended, the black crown returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

These runes, hovering in the air, suddenly merged into the magic array after the incantation ended. Strange patterns appeared on the stone slab, seemingly naturally formed, without damaging the pre-drawn array. Among the patterns, various monstrous forms dominated.

Shaoke rested briefly, glanced at the slowly rotating elemental pool, then began chanting another incantation, again in a language whose name he didn't know. If it weren't for the fact that these incantations were insights he had gained from eternal things in heaven and earth, he would doubt his ability to learn such bizarre speech.

As the incantation progressed, the black crown emitted black light again. These lights slowly hovered in the air before merging into the black statues. When the incantation was halfway done, the crown no longer produced black light. Some statues hadn't absorbed any light, and those that had appeared unchanged.

When the incantation ended, the elemental pool containing the array suddenly churned. Over a hundred thin water jets flew into the air, wrapped in strange magic runes, coiling around the black statues.

After some time, these water jets slowly merged into the statues, causing a few bizarre runes to appear sporadically on them. Shaoke carefully noted the statues with runes. When the water in one elemental pool had been reduced by nearly half, the entire spellcasting process ended. He had to return to the surface, as this task couldn't be completed in a short time.

Back on the top floor, Female Mage Roman and the others were still conversing with the Blue-robed Female Mage. Shaoke found a chair and sat down, quietly watching their discussion. When night fell, the servants the Blue-robed Female Mage had found for the mages brought food. After the meal, the Blue-robed Female Mage spoke with Shaoke.

"Some people from the Mage Guild often come here. They have tried to persuade me to join their organization, but I refused." She frowned. "They will come again in a few days. At that time, I think you should come and tell them to leave as soon as possible."

Shaoke didn't say anything, just nodded. The atmosphere fell silent. Soon, the Blue-robed Female Mage stood up and left. Shaoke, Female Mage Roman, and the others then settled here. Shaoke handed control of the mage tower to Female Mage Roman, with the Cleric assisting. As for Lan Wei'er, she went into seclusion again at the mages' request; she was close to advancing to Eighth-Order beings.

Time passed quickly. Every day, Shaoke went to the lowest floor at specific times to conduct his experiments. Female Mage Roman and the others retrieved their experimental records from the past and began summarizing, intending to successfully produce those special magic items for their people again. Notably, during subsequent trials, no black light appeared from the crown when Shaoke chanted incantations. He didn't notice this, but his experiments progressed smoothly so far.

One day, after bathing the black statues with elemental water, Shaoke received a message from Female Mage Roman in the mage tower. It turned out that members of the Mage Guild had arrived again. The Blue-robed Female Mage hoped Shaoke could join her in dealing with these outsiders. Of course, Shaoke quickly agreed.

However, this time, Shaoke and the Blue-robed Female Mage didn't wait at the outpost. Instead, they flew toward the direction from which the Mage Guild members were coming. According to Shaoke, if a battle were to occur, they wouldn't cause damage to those who hadn't activated defensive measures—mainly civilians.

After half a magic hour, the Mage Guild members appeared in Shaoke's line of sight. Without waiting for the Blue-robed Female Mage to speak, Shaoke instantly Blinked to the front of the group. "Stop. Who allowed you to enter this area? Go back where you came from; that's your best choice." He took out his spellbook, and the black crown began to emit a black glow as he infused it with magic.

The leader was a young Nine-Rank Mage. He looked calmly at Shaoke. "We are going to the Wanderers Alliance settlement in the Blue Feather Empire. Why are you intercepting us?" He glanced at the more than ten Eighth-Rank Mages behind him and two other Ninth-Order beings, then flew a short distance forward.

"You are not welcome here." Shaoke tightened his cloak and quickly rotated his staff. "Leave this area. This is my territory." By then, the Blue-robed Female Mage and seven or eight Nine-Rank Professionals had flown over. They nodded to the Mage Guild members and stood behind Shaoke without saying a word.

The mage smiled. "Esteemed mage, we are from the Mage Guild. I would like to invite you to join the Mage Guild. After all, without good support here, it's difficult for you to develop." He added, "We will provide all resources to support your advancement to Tenth Tier, and we will offer the methods for achieving that rank for free." He then added, "You only need to sign some small agreements."

"This is a paradise for wanderers. I suggest that you, the Mage Guild, leave as soon as possible; otherwise, you will face permanent destruction." Shaoke closed his eyes. "I no longer want to be bound by agreements or others. You should understand this."

"Esteemed mage, you should consider things carefully. One cannot rely solely on personal power; individual strength cannot match that of a group." The mage shrugged, signaling the others to continue flying forward. Just as Shaoke was about to attack, the Blue-robed Female Mage stopped him.

"We have said it many times. We will not cooperate in any form with your Mage Guild." The Blue-robed Female Mage spoke. "Don't think this is some empire, and we are not the leaders of any empire. Remember, don't threaten me with the so-called Mage Guild. I hate it when others threaten me." She touched the crown on her forehead, clearly annoyed.

The Mage Guild members were about to say more when a warrior interrupted. "Gentlemen, while we're on this topic, I think we should discuss the matter of last year when one of our Eighth-Rank Warriors was killed by you. Until this is resolved, I suggest you don't come here." He added, "The deceased was a member of my family."

The leading Nine-Rank Mage looked at Shaoke and the others with an odd expression, then sighed. "We've explained many times; it was just an accident. A Nine-Rank Mage was experimenting with a spell and didn't notice him." He shrugged, saying no more.

"Today, we are also going to conduct spell experiments. We hope you can be careful and avoid accidental injuries." The Nine-Rank Professional warrior sneered, drew a saber from within his body, and prepared to fight.

At that moment, Shaoke's attack began without warning. Two beams of black light shot from his eyes, and the dozen or so gems on his forehead instantly emitted black light—the Death Will spell he had stored. The sudden assault instantly turned the more than ten Eighth-Order Practitioners into black statues. The three or four Nine-Rank Professionals barely activated their protective spells and were about to Blink when Shaoke's spell momentarily froze them.

In that moment, the warrior who had drawn his saber appeared beside those Ninth-Order beings. A faint green glow appeared on his weapon, easily cutting through the unprotected ordinary defensive spells. Several surprised heads flew into the air, caught by the Blue-robed Female Mage, who was prepared.

After collecting the spoils, Shaoke retrieved the more than ten statues and placed them in his ring. The Blue-robed Female Mage suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Unexpectedly, he is a Star Mage who has changed professions." The Blue-robed Female Mage pointed to an aged head. "I think the Mage Guild will be very annoyed this time." She laughed softly. Shaoke noticed that the Female Mage was holding a strange spellbook, carved with no magical script or arrays, but with patterns of countless stars. After gazing at it for a while, Shaoke felt dizzy—a sensation he hadn't experienced since advancing to the ninth rank.

The Star Mage's spellbook delighted everyone. If all went well, their organization might produce a Star Mage after a thousand years. At that point, their strength would be unmatched by ordinary forces. After all, Star Mages were powerful attackers, and their area and single-target spells were equally strong, though spellcasting took longer. They didn't bother to speculate why the Star Mage had come with them; they planned to extract his memories later.

The golden light of the several Nine-Rank Mages wasn't absorbed. Instead, after extracting unnecessary memories through special methods, pure golden light was preserved. If a Spellcaster was willing to pay a price, they could use special means to seal this light into a baby with magical talent, potentially allowing the child to become an Eighth-Rank or higher mage or practitioner in the shortest time.

From the memories, they learned that the Star Mage had intended to go to the Mage Guild in another empire to rest, and had happened to travel with the others. Unfortunately, he lost his life today because of Shaoke. "Perhaps he should have gone alone; it would have been better," said the warrior who had cut off his head. He had long wanted to hunt down these Mage Guild members.

"Apologies, everyone. I think we will not have peace for some time," the Blue-robed Female Mage said, frowning as she examined her scepter. Information from other empire alliances, combined with the dead mages' memories, told her that the Mage Guild was preparing a large-scale attack on their wanderer alliances. They could no longer wait.

Shaoke didn't pay attention to this. He took the heads of several mages and returned to his mage tower.

After informing Female Mage Roman and the others of the situation, he went to his laboratory to process his spoils and continue his experiments. The Blue-robed Female Mage just shook her head helplessly and, after discussing with several other Nine-Rank Professionals, began contacting the wanderer alliances of other empires. Fortunately, they had started such work many years ago, so it wasn't too troublesome now.

——Apologies for being late, brothers, please forgive.