Chapter 90: Don

"Looks like you've learned something again? Go on, what do you want to learn today?" As soon as the hour of You arrived, Li Maolin appeared as usual; with a mere sweep of his spiritual sense, he noticed that Feng Xue's jade belt had been replaced with one adorned with law-silver embroidery, internally scoffing at the boy's uncanny ability to act, yet asking in a perfectly calm tone.

Feng Xue still wanted to learn more, but tonight he was leaving; after a moment's thought, he made no request for new material, instead pulling out two strands of golden thread.

"Master, you promised three waiting periods—two days remain. I won't learn anything new today. First, could you examine these two strands of law-gold and tell me what's wrong with them?"

"Oh?" Li Maolin, hearing this, was not surprised at all; he took the law-gold threads and began studying them—

"Ah, your law-gold's outer shell is too thin. Since your belt already uses law-silver, you must have failed the law-gold but barely scraped by with law-silver instead, right?"

"Exactly, Master, your insight is piercing!" Feng Xue, seeing the man instantly spot the flaw, did not hesitate to praise him. Li Maolin merely smiled, brushed his hand over the law-gold, and Feng Xue, having studied for this period, immediately reacted—he activated the Divine Sight Technique, and saw that within Li Maolin's grasp, streams of anomalous spiritual power continuously seeped inward, pressing Feng Xue's engraved rituals deeper, until nearly half were buried, before halting—

"Try it now?"

Feng Xue took back the law-gold threads, tested them briefly, and his eyes instantly brightened. Li Maolin then explained:

"Do you think gold has higher spiritual conductivity, or silver?"

Hearing this question, Feng Xue paused slightly; though baffled, he did not try to outsmart the question's implication, but answered according to his own judgment:

"It should be gold."

"As a conclusion, that's correct," Li Maolin said. Feng Xue immediately frowned: "Conclusion?"

"Yes. In reality, excluding external factors, silver's conductivity surpasses gold's. But because of votive power, people believe gold is superior to silver in every way, more precious. Under this external influence, gold's actual performance becomes better—but this improvement manifests only at the final stage, like the final interest settlement. We craft artifacts before votive power takes effect, so we must consider performance prior to votive influence (Note ①)…"

Li Maolin carefully explained how votive power affects spellcasting, and how to eliminate its interference to ensure artifact precision…

If before, Li Maolin had merely taught Feng Xue out of obligation or to weather a tribulation, now he was genuinely revealing his true expertise, for he believed that if he could take on a disciple blessed with great fortune, it might make the next six months far smoother for him—and increase his chances of succeeding in the ultimate leap on July 15th, far more valuable than simply devouring this boy outright.

Still, he had to test him first—ensure this boy truly was a lucky cultivator without sect backing.

Li Maolin taught meticulously; Feng Xue listened intently. For an arcane cultivator of this world, the issue of votive power amplification was merely a minor discrepancy—but for Feng Xue, who intended to cross into other worlds, this discrepancy was enormous.

Just as Feng Xue pulled out his notebook, Li Maolin's brow twitched—a sense of discord surfaced in his mind. His Soul Realm was so powerful that with a mere flick of thought, he identified the problem—

Feng Xue's motion of pulling out the notebook today was different from usual!

"Did you switch your Hu Tian Bag? Did you make it yourself? Come to think of it, this boy has indeed been collecting votive power lately—but why switch now?"

With suspicion aroused, Li Maolin looked again at the guesthouse room and saw flaws everywhere. Though he had only taught Feng Xue here for four days, combined with his prior ten-day observations, he had already formed a rough understanding of Feng Xue and the serpent demon's habits. Now, this discord meant Feng Xue had changed his routine for some reason.

"Some furnishings are missing—preparing to move? But his mansion isn't even finished; how could he buy new furniture and decorations during the New Year?"

Li Maolin mentally compared all these details, and suddenly, an idea leapt into his mind—

This boy plans to run away!

Though he didn't know why, there was no doubt: this boy intended to leave Lucheng during these New Year days.

"No, no, not right… maybe it's possible… no, not right either…" Li Maolin's heart suddenly grew chaotic. On one hand, he thought if Feng Xue left Lucheng, free from other arcane cultivators, he'd be easier to strike in the wilderness. On the other hand, leaving Lucheng might expose him to unknown arcane cultivators.

Two thoughts tangled in his mind, and Li Maolin suddenly realized a problem—

This boy may not be planning to run now—he's been planning to run all along!

If his guess was correct, this was a lucky little devil. All the events in Lucheng these days, to him, must have felt like walking a tightrope. He knew he was unworthy of his power, yet dared not reveal himself as a novice carrying great treasure…

Though this idea seemed bizarre by the orthodox logic of this world, Li Maolin was a demonic cultivator. From the perspective of a demonic cultivator's jungle law, this made perfect sense!

"So that's it—this boy probably inherited the legacy of some elder demonic cultivator. That explains his broad knowledge and logical thinking. As for that great demon, perhaps it was forcibly enslaved using a Spirit-Subjugation Ring or similar artifact, hence its half-hearted service!"

"But if I'm right, then the reason he's only now preparing to flee is likely because something happened recently—he fears leaving now might make him appear as the mastermind behind it… From this angle…"

Li Maolin suddenly had a new idea. If before, he had merely wanted to test Feng Xue as a preliminary step toward taking him as a disciple, now this plan must be adjusted!

After all, if Feng Xue had delayed leaving twice due to sudden events, perhaps a third delay would still work!

He didn't need to delay him long—just until after the New Year, until he used the New Year's all-encompassing renewal votive power to achieve Spirit-Body Unity. After that, even if Feng Xue didn't want to leave, he'd push him out!

…

Deng Gu Niang had been waiting outside the guesthouse since four-thirty, drinking a pot of fine tea until its color faded, eating three boxes of tea snacks. As darkness fully fell, she sighed: —

"Not a single sign of movement… Wait, that's odd?"

She abruptly stood up, rushing toward the guesthouse—but her body was instantly frozen in place by spiritual light—

"You fool, what are you doing? The fact you just realized this means the spell has already been lifted. Forget whether you can fight him—you'd have zero evidence if you went now. Do you think the townspeople believe you, a spirit-medium, or the orthodox arcane sects?"

Hearing Master Huijiu's words, Deng Gu Niang slumped back down, voice bitter: "That's exactly why I must seize the chance! Otherwise, these southerners will never respect us!"

(End of Chapter)