Chapter 160: Tameralan: Each Takes One Treasure from the Sun Church

Starfire Hall.

Beneath a towering crystal dome, twelve prismatic pillars stood upon the cold bronze ground, their torches burning eternally, as if destined to illuminate until the end of time.

Tameralan, Hageks, and Dolove stood silently before the hall, until the figure wrapped in torchlight slowly appeared—then, these prodigies, each capable of dominating an era, bowed in unison:

“Your Highness, good evening.”

“Good evening.” The black-haired youth smiled faintly.

“Dolove, after I left, did the Pale Witch harm you?”

After all had taken their seats at the bronze table, Xia Mingyu first inquired after Dolove’s well-being.

After all, that Moonlit-rank witch, with her vile temperament, was a troublemaker by any standard.

“Your Highness, she did not harm me—it was I who attacked her out of misunderstanding.” The girl shook her head, her expression slightly embarrassed.

“What misunderstanding?” Xia Mingyu blinked, instinctively pressing.

“After you left, I heard a noise in the night and went outside—I saw” Dolove recounted to them the entire village’s collective plea for the Pale Witch to turn them into ice beings.

When she finished, especially upon learning that the northern villagers had willingly become monsters just to survive by eating ice, those at the table reacted differently—some sighed in sorrow, others grimaced, some clenched their fists in silence.

Finally, Xia Mingyu summed it up in a heavy tone.

“Brutal tyranny is more terrifying than being treated as less than human!”

A silence fell over them all. Through those words, they seemed to glimpse countless commoners drowning in hell under the dark rule of the Gluttonous King, Luo En Suoxia.

No one knew what kind of unbearable despair had driven living souls to willingly become monsters.

“Dolove, when I wake again, I’ll place more grain into the Linking Space—please help me deliver it to every village in the north suffering from famine.”

After a long pause, Xia Mingyu spoke slowly.

Though each time he depleted his magic felt like his mind being split open, if his own suffering could bring happiness to millions, it was worth enduring.

“Your Highness, thank you for your kindness, but you’ve already given me so much grain—if you give more, it might affect the people of the southern lands,” Dolove said hesitantly.

Though the southern lands, exempt from grain taxes, had far more food than the other three regions, their reserves were still limited.

She dreamed of saving the starving, emaciated people of the north—but never at the cost of sacrificing the peace of the south.

After all, no matter where one lived, a person was still a person—capable of weeping from sorrow, smiling from joy.

“Don’t worry. All the grain I’ve placed into the Linking Space so far wasn’t taken from the south—it was created by me.” Xia Mingyu replied honestly.

Created grain himself?!

Hall members: “???”

“You mean the thousands of bags of wheat you gave me… were all created by you, Your Highness?!”

Dolove’s face was filled with disbelief; her voice trembled slightly.

After all, creating vast quantities of food out of nothing was beyond human capability—she even began to wonder if her Highness was truly a Food Sprite.

If so… fourteen hundred million subjects—did that mean fourteen hundred million sprites? Was her Highness really a prince of a sprite kingdom?

“Not out of nothing,” Xia Mingyu quickly interrupted her wild thoughts. “I have an ability similar to the Reaper’s, but slightly stronger—I can accelerate crop growth by supplying magic.”

To demonstrate, he conjured a green sprout upon the bronze floor.

“Bountiful Harvest.” Xia Mingyu whispered, bending low and gently touching the emerald leaf with a finger wrapped in black flame-clouds.

In the next instant, the sprout began to grow wildly, as if doused in an enhanced version of Jin Kela.

Within mere seconds, it became a fully matured stalk over a meter tall.

Its golden, heavy ears glowed beautifully under the torchlight above, irresistibly enticing.

This miraculous sight left the other three breathless with awe.

The ability to turn a seedling into mature grain in seconds was no different from creating food from nothing!

“Your Highness, you’re far too modest! With such miraculous power, even without your fourteen-hundred-million-subject status, every kingdom would treat you as an honored guest.” Tameralan sincerely marveled.

He grew even more certain of his intuition: his Highness would one day bring radiant salvation to all the people of the Western Continent.

His mission, without doubt, was to spare no effort in safeguarding his Highness’s ideal—even if it cost him his life, he would protect the one most vital to this world.

“Dolove, I need your help with something.”

The girl’s expression instantly turned solemn.

She silently vowed: having received so much from her Highness, no matter how difficult the task, she would complete it perfectly—or she would not deserve the honor of bearing the Mason name.

“As I said before, creating grain consumes magic. My own reserves are insufficient, so a pharmacist friend of mine brewed a potion to accelerate magic recovery—but it requires a herb from the north.”

Xia Mingyu opened his palm, and a flower with petals shaped like ice crystals floated gently above it.

“Ice Crystal Flower?” Dolove blinked. Though uncommon in the north, it wasn’t rare—sometimes, starving people even ate it to fill their stomachs.

“Yes. Though you can buy Ice Crystal Flowers in the south, their medicinal properties degrade severely. But if we use the Linking Space, we can obtain them from the north with full potency, creating a potion several times more effective.” Xia Mingyu explained patiently.

“So I need you to collect as many Ice Crystal Flowers as possible.”

“Rest assured, Your Highness. When I return, I’ll immediately order my knights to gather them for you.” Dolove declared solemnly.

“How many knights do you have?”

Xia Mingyu was curious. After all, Dolove was the last descendant of Duke Mason. Given the duke’s charisma, even in exile, she must have had some loyal knights at her side.

“Only a few dozen Morning Stars, a handful of New Moon Knights, and two Crescent Moon Knights—forgive me for being so underwhelming,” the girl said apologetically.

She felt her forces were pitifully small—like a single drop of water compared to the vast ocean of her Highness’s fourteen-hundred-million-subject kingdom.

Dozens of Morning Stars?!

A few New Moon Knights—and two Crescent Moon Knights?!

Good heavens, her knights could defeat the entire southern region!

Hss!

Xia Mingyu sucked in a sharp breath, momentarily questioning his own life.

He thought: perhaps Dolove, not him, deserved the title of “Your Highness.”

Meanwhile, Tameralan, listening to their conversation about using the Linking Space to preserve the Ice Crystal Flowers’ potency, lowered his head in deep thought.

He felt he might send his companions a small gift.

“Your Highness, may I be permitted to give each member of the Hall—including you—a gift?”

Tameralan stepped before Xia Mingyu and knelt slowly on one knee, respectfully.

“Of course. What kind of gift?”

At this, everyone’s eyes flickered with curiosity and anticipation.

“The Sun Church has a Sunfire Vault, open to all its members, housing centuries of treasures: potions, ores, magical artifacts, enchanted weapons, knowledge—everything.”

“Anyone who earns merit can exchange it for items from the Vault. I still have a few merit points left—I can exchange one item each for you all, and deliver them through the Linking Space.”

“I hope this can contribute to our shared ideal,” Tameralan said earnestly, his blue eyes brimming with hope.

He was the one giving gifts, yet he seemed to be begging for a favor.

This guy… has become a do-gooder beyond redemption.

Xia Mingyu silently sighed in his heart, quickly helping Tameralan rise, then said:

“Then I won’t refuse—could you get me… a magic book?”

After much thought, Xia Mingyu chose a magic book over a magic crystal.

After all, his greatest lack was offensive power—and his awakened True Magic, Heavenly Punishment Dragon Thunder, was a drain that emptied his magic completely upon use.

Learning a new spell was more valuable than simply increasing his magic reserves.

After all, no mage in this world mastered only one spell!

“Of course, Your Highness. What element of magic book do you need?”

“Ice,” Xia Mingyu decided.

He remembered Elise had mentioned his high affinity for ice magic—and when he cast ice spells himself, they felt naturally smooth.

“Hageks, Miss Dolove, what about you?”

“I need a treasure to better train my body—could be knowledge or an artifact.”

“Lord Tameralan, I need a sword technique. As for the type—I’m sure you, who often guide my swordplay, know better than I do.”

Inspired by Xia Mingyu, Hageks and Dolove also voiced their requests—and Tameralan gladly accepted them all.

Click. Click. Click.

As the dream ended, the hall’s prismatic pillars faded into shadows.

“Meeting all of you… has been truly wonderful,” the girl suddenly said at the last moment.

“I feel the same!” x3

“Hahaha.”

When the members finally woke from their dreams, all they remembered was each other’s smiles.

The North, Snow Sheep Village.

At dawn, the girl on the bed slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of beautiful emerald eyes.

Without hesitation, Dolove, still half-asleep, quickly dressed, seized her Lionheart Sword, and dashed out the door.

This time, she did not head to the village square as usual to practice swordplay—instead, she pounded loudly on the doors of house after house.

Soon, the eastern knights gathered before her.

Though still drowsy, they stood tall and straight, feigning full alertness.

After all, this was the first time their lord had summoned them all together—and in such urgent fashion. Surely, a dire mission awaited.

Perhaps annihilating the Frost Fang Knights sent to capture her? Or even launching a surprise assault on the Polar City to kill Mo Wen and install a new puppet ruler over the north?

As the knights speculated wildly, Dolove declared solemnly:

“All of you, depart immediately. Gather as many Ice Crystal Flowers as you can—for my benefactor.”

The knights: "???"

That’s it?

My old bones are burning up, and you’re telling me this is just to pluck flowers?

Moments later.

Streams of light departed from Snow Sheep Village from all directions, vanishing into the boundless snowfields.

Though slightly disappointed inside, the knights still faithfully carried out their lord’s orders.

Only when the sun sank behind the distant mountains, staining the horizon a blazing gold-red, did the knights return, laden with bags filled with Ice Crystal Flowers.

They compared among themselves who had gathered more Ice Crystal Flowers, proving their loyalty, while following the girl’s instructions to place each bag into the emerald-green light portal.

“Dorovi, we’ve harvested nearly all the Ice Crystal Flowers within several kilometers. If you wish to gather more for your benefactor, you’ll have to go much farther.” Lansen advised.

Though he had many questions he wished to ask the girl—such as who her benefactor was, and how she obtained her spatial artifact—he would never broach the subject unless his lord spoke first.

“I hope these Ice Crystal Flowers will at least satisfy His Highness,” Dorovi worried.

This was His Highness’s first task assigned to her—and such a simple, safe one—so she naturally hoped to please him.

Otherwise, she would be unworthy of His Highness’s kindness.

Red Fox Castle, evening.

Xia Mingyu sensed the change in the linked space and summoned Youde.

Because he often needed Youde to brew potions, he had built him a new alchemy workshop within Red Fox Castle.

The crimson light portal opened downward.

With a rustling sound, bags filled with Ice Crystal Flowers tumbled onto the ground, piling into a mound taller than Youde himself!

He walked over, quickly counted, and realized each bag contained hundreds of Ice Crystal Flowers!

“H-His Highness, even if I stayed awake ten nights straight, I couldn’t finish making all these!”

Youde’s legs trembled with panic.

“Relax—I won’t expect you to finish them all at once,” Xia Mingyu said, half-amused, half-exasperated.

After calming Youde, he stared thoughtfully at the mountain of Ice Crystal Flowers on the ground.

With so many Ice Crystal Flowers, besides what he could use himself, there would surely be leftovers—perhaps he could sell Magic Potion to earn foreign currency.

But was it truly wise to sell this strategic material in Sosia? What if his future enemies got their hands on it? That would be far too dangerous.

Xia Mingyu fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile.

Sundial City.

Tamellaran, after being dressed by his attendants and carrying out his morning patrol with his sword, immediately set off for the location of the Radiant Vault.

It was the Dawn Cathedral, perched atop the highest peak of Mount Taiyang—the structure closest to the first rays of dawn across the entire continent.

(End of Chapter)