Chapter 1646: Wealthy Families, Probing Attitudes

Xia Duo had no objections to this; given the short timeframe, he hadn't even intended to collect a deposit. Even if Feiqi were to back out in the end, he could simply sell the finished Magic Item to someone else.

Although it might not necessarily sell for 100,000 Gold Coins, compared to the minor costs, he would definitely not lose money—not only would he not lose, he would make a huge profit.

The key to a boutique Magic Item lies in the High-Grade Mithril and the creator. For Xia Duo, who already mastered the purification method for High-Grade Mithril, creating a boutique Magic Item was essentially just a matter of labor costs.

Are labor costs expensive?

To others, they are indeed very expensive, but since Xia Duo is working for himself to earn money, he doesn't need to calculate labor costs at all.

In other words, every time he sells a boutique Magic Item, it is pure profit; it is only a question of how much he earns.

Of course, one could also consider it Xia Duo trading his own time and energy for money. In the absence of more effective methods, this was all he could do.

……

After Feiqi left, Xia Duo had Beilaila bring in Aoerdelin, who also hoped to customize a boutique Magic Item of the Scrying type.

But unlike the directional search for a specific target that Feiqi requested, Aoerdelin's requirement leaned more towards the Perception of microscopic details.

Or, to put it in Xia Duo's words, what Feiqi wanted was a multi-functional telescope, while Aoerdelin wanted a microscope.

After agreeing on the requirements, Xia Duo also set a three-day delivery time. Aoerdelin was equally surprised by this, yet without the slightest hesitation, he immediately said:

"Lord Xia Duo, I will have the payment delivered to Azure Manor tomorrow."

As expected of a bloodline family, their savings were quite substantial; they could produce 100,000 Gold Coins so casually. Xia Duo had a premonition that he might be able to earn enough money for a Floating City just from the Mages of Jilan Tower.

If he worked hard enough, it should be possible!

Thinking this way, the more Xia Duo looked at Aoerdelin, the more he liked him. Right, there was one more thing he almost forgot—

"Mage Aoerdelin, I am very interested in the Bloodline Sequencing Project you mentioned yesterday. I wonder if Jilan Tower would be willing to accept an outsider like me to join?"

Upon hearing the first part, Aoerdelin's heart was instantly filled with joy. If he could bring Lord Xia Duo into Jilan Tower, he would certainly receive immense benefits as the introducer.

Not to mention anything else, would the higher-ups even make him pay for this custom boutique Magic Item himself?

But upon hearing the latter part, and the "outsider" that was clearly emphasized, Aoerdelin's heart instantly turned cold. This meant that Lord Xia Duo would not be joining Jilan Tower, or at least it was unlikely to happen through him.

Secretly sighing at the pity, Aoerdelin ultimately adjusted his mindset and said solemnly:

"Lord Xia Duo, the Bloodline Sequencing Project is an important strategic project of Jilan Tower. I am just a very insignificant character in it; I cannot make the decision to introduce an outsider. However, I will convey your request to the higher-ups. I believe they will take it into consideration."

"That will do. I will be in Seventon for some time recently; contact me the moment there is any news."

As he spoke, Xia Duo pointed his finger, leaving a faint, glowing Magic Mark in the void. Aoerdelin hurriedly took out his Spellbook to receive the mark.

Seeing this, Xia Duo couldn't help but smile: "Mage Aoerdelin, if you have time recently, you might as well visit the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps there will be an unexpected surprise."

"Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce?" Aoerdelin was somewhat confused.

He was no stranger to this name; he knew that the Tower of Time, where Lord Xia Duo resided, had a type of Communication Magic Tool sold in the shops of the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce. Could it be that there was a new Communication Magic Tool?

Aoerdelin was thoughtful and decided to visit the shops of the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce in a few days.

……

After Aoerdelin, only Andate Laibu remained. After Beilaila brought him into the Xiu Xi Shi and was about to leave, Xia Duo hurriedly stopped her, thanked her sincerely, and said:

"Go back and rest early. When you have time, come visit the Tower of Time; Niya misses you very much!"

This was not Xia Duo speaking nonsense; Niya had spent quite a long time at Giles Tower, and the person she had the best relationship with was Beilaila.

In the old era, class differences were extremely vast, and interactions between people focused more on status and class; pure friendship was rare.

Whether out of friendship or as a challenge to and a breaking away from the constraints of the old era, Niya would not abandon this relationship, and Xia Duo was well aware of this.

Therefore, he intentionally let Niya have more contact with ordinary people, and even with Beilaila, who had an ordinary status relative to her current self, so as to establish identification with ordinary people and empathy for them.

Beilaila seemed quite flattered by this; she responded in a low voice and left the Xiu Xi Shi.

……

After Beilaila left, only Xia Duo and Andate Laibu remained in the Xiu Xi Shi, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy.

*Cough*—

Xia Duo gave a light cough, breaking the slightly heavy atmosphere, and asked Andate Laibu in a relaxed tone: "What kind of Magic Item do you want to customize?"

"Lord Xia Duo, I—I want to customize a teleportation Magic Artifact sufficient to escape from the hands of a Great Arcanist."

"Escape from the hands of a Great Arcanist?"

Xia Duo glanced at Andate Laibu thoughtfully and then said: "If you want to be certain of a successful escape, then such a thing cannot be bought for a mere 100,000 Gold Coins. Are you mentally prepared for this?"

Andate Laibu felt flustered under Xia Duo's gaze, but he quickly calmed down and said with a firm tone: "Please tell me the price, Lord Xia Duo!"

"This price is not calculated in money!"

Being able to reliably escape from the hands of a Great Arcanist meant that a Great Arcanist who was not proficient in Scrying spells would be unable to do anything to him!

Xia Duo immediately thought of Keluosi of the Verdant Tower. Was this guy proficient in Scrying spells? Xia Duo didn't know, but there was one thing he was very clear about: if Keluosi was truly a secret agent of the Seven Towers, then no matter how much Andate Laibu struggled, it would be to no avail.

Even for Xia Duo, if he were to truly face the Seven Towers, his only path would be to flee in defeat. The only difference was that he could flee, while Andate Laibu wouldn't even be able to do that.

"Please tell me the price, Lord Xia Duo!" Andate Laibu requested again, his tone still firm.

"Go back!"

Xia Duo waved his hand, signaling that the other party could leave.

This was, of course, not because he was prepared to refuse the other party, but because he wanted to see how determined the other party's attitude really was. If they weren't determined enough, then it would be better to just let them join the Verdant Tower Alliance.

And when Andate Laibu heard this, he was indeed anxious and hurriedly said:

"Lord Xia Duo, the ambition of the Verdant Tower Alliance to expand has long been revealed, and not just in terms of territory, but also in Magic Items. I fear Lord Xia Duo would not have guessed that the Verdant Tower has already cracked the Communication Magic Tool of the Tower of Time and is currently selling them in the territory of the Southern Verdant Tower Alliance!"