Chapter 1199: Adamantine Reaction Pool, Exchange of Faith

Besides the fuel issue, Xia Duo also noted that the reaction layer requires Adamantine for the Reaction Pool; after all, it is pure silver in a molten, boiling state, and other materials might not necessarily be able to withstand it.

At the same time, one must also consider the possibility of elemental transmutation occurring in such an extreme environment; if the Reaction Pool had to be replaced frequently, the workload would be almost equivalent to rebuilding a reactor.

It would be better to do it right the first time and use Adamantine, which has more stable physical properties, as the Reaction Pool.

Currently, the Tower of Time's Adamantine reserves might not be sufficient to build such a Reaction Pool; one would either have to build a simplified version for testing first, or purchase Adamantine.

Of course, if it were the latter, that would have to be after possessing a Mithril Mine.

If one doesn't even have a Mithril Mine, then it is truly not worth building any smelting furnace; it would be better to specialize in collecting discarded Mithril materials from others to refine High-Grade Mithril!

Thinking of this, Xia Duo's desire for a Mithril Mine faded quite a bit; fortunately, this emotion only appeared for a fleeting moment, as he could still distinguish the difference between purchasing externally and owning one himself.

Not to mention the future, even now, Mithril is an important strategic resource; if one always relies on external purchases, and it happens to be embargoed by others one day, that would be a huge problem.

Owning it oneself means others cannot embargo it even if they want to; as for the issue of military intervention, if it truly reached that point, there would be little difference between purchasing externally or owning it oneself.

In short, accumulating one's own foundation is never a loss.

……

After leaving the Mithril smelting workshop, Stern did not take Xia Duo to the next step of the Mithril refining process; it was not that he was unwilling, but that there simply wasn't one right now.

The Leisen Territory had only obtained the Mithril Refining Technology from the Seven Cities Council two or three days ago, so it was already very efficient to have rushed to build such a smelting furnace.

To ask for anything more would be somewhat unreasonable.

"Lord Xia Duo, I rarely inquire about matters in the Territory; my father usually handles them. Regarding the follow-up arrangements for Mithril refining, my father has not told me yet."

"It's alright, I am already very satisfied to have seen this much."

Xia Duo said this from the bottom of his heart; this trip to the Leisen Territory was worth it just to visit this Mithril smelting workshop, even if Great Arcanist Kelifu was unwilling to reveal the experimental details.

Not to mention, he had also recorded a lot of echo feedback data from the Mithril Mine, which he could use to find his own Mithril Mine once he returned to Nan Jing!

However, he still hoped to obtain all the details of that accident from the Lord of Leisen, as this matter was of great importance.

It was also a matter on his mind that he had been thinking about for a long time.

……

After visiting the mine and the workshop, having walked such a large circle, it was already late, and Xia Duo ended his afternoon tour.

After returning to the city, Xia Duo met with the Lord of Leisen again, but this time the two did not continue to discuss Magic.

Instead, they discussed Chess.

Although the Lord of Leisen rarely went out, the 【Arcane Maze】 had still spread to the Leisen Territory and was deeply loved by the Lord of Leisen.

Now that the creator of the 【Arcane Maze】 had personally come to the Leisen Territory, Telemen could no longer hold back and invited Xia Duo to join the battle.

It was a pity that Xia Duo, as the "founder," had not put much effort into researching or practicing the 【Arcane Maze】—that is, Chess.

After several matches between the two, although Xia Duo won them all, he won quite reluctantly and did not have the feeling of crushing his opponents like when he first taught people to play chess in Seventon.

"Lord of Leisen, do you often like to play 【Arcane Maze】?"

"Yes, as long as I have free time, I will play a few games; after all, in my current state, I cannot do anything else."

Hearing this answer, Xia Duo felt quite emotional; a once-promising Spellcaster and student of a Great Arcanist had lost the ability to cast spells overnight.

If it were himself, could he accept such a blow?

Looking at the Lord of Leisen again, although there was much self-deprecation in his tone, he had not actually lost confidence in life, besides managing the Territory as usual.

He was probably still researching Magic; Xia Duo had sensed this during their conversation in the morning.

It was just that researching Magic as an ordinary person could only involve pure theoretical deduction, calculation, or conjecture, without the ability to verify it in practice, yet he had persisted.

This mindset was truly worth learning from!

……

Between moves, Xia Duo chatted idly with the Lord of Leisen, covering rumors from various parts of Netheril as well as some interesting anecdotes about the Leisen Territory.

Of course, Xia Duo also talked about the situation in Daxia Territory, especially Daxia cuisine and the Daxia Code, which were key topics of introduction.

"Lord Xia Duo, what you are doing truly aligns with the true intent of my Lord! But I do not feel the traces of Holy Power on you; why is that?" the Lord of Leisen asked with some confusion.

Xia Duo knew he was referring to the Daxia Code; generally, if a lord could sincerely promote such order and strictly enforce it, they might not actually need to personally perceive Holy Power to be noticed by the God of Exploration and Protection and thus automatically perceive Holy Power.

In fact, Xia Duo had already rejected the God of Exploration and Protection a long time ago.

When building the Altar at the Linshui Village Altar Square, Xia Duo had perceived the will of the God of Exploration and Protection; he did not understand what this meant at the time, but after personally participating in the Princess Ascension Ceremony, he understood that it was a precursor to perceiving Holy Power.

If he had been willing to accept it at the time, it would have been very easy for Holy Power to be born.

It was just that at that time, he was wary of any god and would not allow any power beyond his own to exist within himself.

Of course, he still held awe for the gods now.

This was also the reason why he had to refuse the Princess's Holy Power even during the Princess Ascension Ceremony.

If I can't afford to offend, I can at least hide!

"The God of Exploration and Protection is undoubtedly a great existence; I highly identify with His path, but I also have my own path, and that is Magic!"

Faith can be deceived or induced, but it cannot be forced; in fact, Xia Duo's practice of order itself strengthened the power of the God of Exploration and Protection and glorified His existence, without the need for deliberate faith.

Similar to this was the Princess's order.

As long as Xia Duo did not announce his withdrawal from Netheril, he was effectively strengthening the power of the "God of Exploration and Protection of Netheril."

……

Hearing Xia Duo mention his own path, the Lord of Leisen did not continue, as this issue was relatively sensitive.

Generally speaking, Netherese Mages did not deny the existence of the God of Exploration and Protection, nor did they deny His greatness.

But when it came to faith, especially the kind of wholehearted faith that existed solely to practice the concepts and path of the God of Exploration and Protection, there were simply not many Mages who could do it.

Not to mention the God of Exploration and Protection, even for the Magic Goddess or the Master of Mysteries, one did not see many Mages who held faith.