Chapter 187

The Noland Continent is very, very large.

On this vast continent, stories are happening every moment.

Most of these stories are like a drop of water in the ocean, not causing the slightest ripple.

But there are also some stories that, at first, are just like the most ordinary drop of rainwater entering the ocean, suddenly becoming silent, quite dull and ordinary, but many years later, they set off a tsunami that swept through everything.

Noland Calendar Year 9366.

The southeast corner of the Noland Continent map boundary.

The coastal land adjacent to the Nolo-Jia Strait.

Here is the location of Linhai City, the Noland Continent's number one port, number one trading city, and the most important shipping center hub between the Noland Continent and the Terra Continent.

It is the most prosperous city in the entire mage plane, without one.

On the huge, magnificent, and majestic Gate of the Sun.

The four emblems representing the four major merchant families of Linhai City are shining, symbolizing the eternal glory of the four major merchant families.

The facts seem to be the same.

Linhai City, this city that is no longer young, still exudes the vivid vitality of an eighteen-year-old girl.

And as long as Linhai City exists for one day, the four major merchant families that control this city will never decline, or rather, under the feedback of Linhai City, they will grow even stronger... that should be the case.

History has proven time and time again that human civilization, no matter under what system, or in what time and space, as long as classes appear and structures are established, will inevitably fall into the atmosphere of "bureaucracy."

Anna stood silently, standing in front of the small building belonging to the family.

As one of the four wealthiest families in this city, or rather, on this continent.

This small building belonging to the Aokenli family is not like the rumors, made of gold, and its surface does not even have any golden luster.

But everyone in the family knows that everything the family has originated from this small building.

It originated from the original owner of the small building, a man named Eddie Aokenli.

One day many years ago, when the Aokenli family was not the current Aokenli family, he researched the first piece of Aokenli alchemical weapon in the small building.

From then on, the Aokenli family began to become the Aokenli family.

And this small building was later rebuilt into the "Spirit-Thought Building."

Within the family, all inventions and creations that are considered valuable can be reported to the Spirit-Thought Building to be evaluated and approved by the family.

Among them, the outstanding ones can even rise to the top with a single invention.

Everyone has troubles, even children who have been sitting on private magic-guided airships since childhood, not to mention ordinary people.

Anna is very troubled now.

She never knew that the family's Spirit-Thought Building now actually requires money to report spirit thoughts?

If she remembers correctly, "respecting technology" has always been the family's tenet, right? The fat Gelang Aokenli leaned against the gate of the Spirit-Thought Building, looked at the silent and rustic Anna, and asked expressionlessly: "Have you considered it?"

Anna grabbed the hem of her neat but simple long dress with both hands, twisting it hard.

Seeing this, Gelang turned around and made a gesture to leave.

"Wait, Lord Gelang..." Seeing that Gelang was about to leave, Anna couldn't help it and hurriedly called him to stop.

In his impatient gaze, amidst a rustling sound, she took out an exquisite crystal card that did not match her attire.

"This is the pension for my husband issued by the family... He has been testing alchemical weapons for the family for a full one hundred and thirty-one years... One hundred and thirty-one years is just this one crystal card... take it," Anna moved her lips and said with difficulty.

Gelang took the crystal card and said again: "Bring it here."

Only then did Anna carefully take out a scroll she had been keeping close to her body and handed it to Gelang carefully.

"Lord Gelang, this is He Xi's research. He has always been a gifted child. This research is very remarkable. You must help report it to the family," she couldn't help but add in a low voice.

Thinking of the words and derivation processes in the scroll that she couldn't understand at all, she remembered the feeling of being dazed when she first came into contact with runology, and a full sense of awe and pride couldn't help but arise in her heart.

Because these things were written by her son.

Gelang took the scroll and walked into the Spirit-Thought Building without even looking at it, not even bothering to brush off Anna.

Anna watched eagerly as Gelang took the scroll and entered, her hands continuing to twist the hem of her skirt, talking to herself: "You must help report it to the family..."

She knew how much ridicule and disdain her child had encountered in the dark and in the open over the years, and how much suffering he had endured. As a mother, she just wanted to prove that her child was good.

She also believed this immensely.

Even though she didn't understand anything on that scroll at all.

Even though the things on that scroll had always been called useless things by others, the delusional fantasies of a madman.

The simple wooden door closed slowly.

Gelang Aokenli, who walked into the Spirit-Thought Building, suddenly sneered and muttered to himself: "Truly valuable inventions and creations, how could they appear so easily?"

"Rising to the top in one step, how could it be so simple?"

As one of the directors of the Spirit-Thought Building's review department, he was naturally not a piece of trash who only had money in his eyes.

He had already seen this scroll that Anna handed in and had already confirmed that it was something of no value.

It was precisely because he concluded it was worthless that he dared to extort money unscrupulously.

"Basic rune rules? Deriving magic arrays through logic and calculation?"

"Magic arrays are not built through rune modulation, but calculated on paper first?"

"Is this a child playing house?"

"Full of gibberish."

"What kind of Arabian Nights idea is this, ridiculous."

"If these theories work, what is the concept?"

"This means that the Lu En family's core technology will be caught up by Aokenli, and Aokenli will become the only family among the four major merchant families in Linhai City that masters both 'alchemical weapons' and 'rune construction' core technologies."

"Is it possible?"

The Aokenli family, along with the Yigoer family, the Aien family, and the Lu En family, are listed as the four major merchant families of Linhai City, jointly controlling Linhai City.

Their business spans two continents, collecting endless wealth.

Each family masters a core technology as their respective family's pillar industry.

The Yigoer family's core technology is "magic-guided airships"; they master the most advanced airship propulsion and airship weapon technology, and thereby monopolize "transportation."

The Aien family's core technology is "Aoruike Crystal," which possesses high magic density, safety, longevity, and reliability.

They can compress the magic power in tons of magic crystals into a small crystal and keep it stable.

Whether it is airships, large alchemical weapons, or super-large magic arrays, their operation cannot be separated from Aoruike Crystal.

Aoruike Crystal represents "energy."

The Aokenli family masters the most superb magic alchemy techniques, inherits ancient alchemy secrets, walks at the forefront of alchemical weapons, and creates countless amazing alchemical weapons.

In their magnificent workshop in Linhai City, the "Sea Furnace," new crafts are born and circulated every day.

Alchemical products produced by Aokenli are in short supply worldwide.

Alchemical weapons represent "arms."

The final Lu En family masters the "rune construction" technology, which represents the strongest individual power.

They possess the largest number of rune construct masters in the world.

Of course, because "rune construction" cannot be mass-produced, the Lu En family's wealth is not as great as the other three major families.

But that set of eighth-rank rune construction in Linhai City, "Gift of the Sea," which is also the only one in the world, was made by the Lu En family and is now firmly held in the hands of the Lu En family.

This "Gift of the Sea" alone is enough to make the Lu En family's status as solid as a rock.

Only one eighth-rank rune construct master has appeared so far, so this set of eighth-rank rune construction only exists.

Now, someone says that one can bypass rune modulation through calculation and draw magic arrays across ranks?

And this person is just a second-rank runemaster.

In Gelang's view, this is just the absurd and ridiculous naive delusion of a low-rank runemaster.

It's like a poor person guessing that nobles must have two bowls of soy milk for every meal, drinking one and pouring one away.

If this isn't ridiculous, what is? (End of chapter)