Chapter 417: Astral Holy Spirit

In the days that followed, Xia Duo enjoyed a rare period of leisure. At the end of October, Lady Patti brought good news: she had re-established contact with the people sent to the north. Two small Langasi tribes had been persuaded and were already on their way to Daxia Territory, expected to arrive in the eleventh month.

In mid-November, good news came from the brick kiln. The slave Black had improved the quality of the brick-making clay through multiple screening and water-soaking/beating methods, and the first brick that could not be crushed by foot was born. Other kiln workers also made their own contributions, and Xia Duo ordered Laidun to record their merits one by one.

In late November, good news came from Savile Town: the cargo ships of the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce had arrived. This new chamber of commerce, introduced by the Princess, not only brought magic materials urgently needed by the Tower of Time but also brought brand-new supply contracts, which caused the attitudes of several chambers of commerce currently negotiating with Dailike to change rapidly. The Tower of Time also received good news: the vast majority of Apprentices were actively leaning toward the "Progress Society," and the Tilake Research Lab successfully produced a Light Ring that remained stable for three full days.

At the same time, due to the addition of Progress Society members, the first batch of Magic Scrolls produced by the Tilake Research Lab under the new "division of labor and cooperation" model was released, with a finished product rate as high as 70 percent.

At the end of November, a merchant ship from Rodney Territory arrived at Savile Town, led by an Archmage named Niuman and Priest Ke'er.

Upon receiving the news, Xia Duo immediately ended his month of leisure and returned to the Tower of Time.

However, after returning to the Tower of Time, he did not go to Savile Town immediately, but instead went to the Plane Exploration Layer to check the operation of the Plane Exploration Array.

During this month, Xia Duo had not received a single piece of news about a new Projection Plane, which left him somewhat depressed. He had originally thought he would be able to discover at least one every month; it seemed he had been too optimistic.

After inspection, the Plane Exploration Array was in good operating condition, but it simply could not search for Projection Planes or real Sub-planes. Standing at the core of the array, Xia Duo sighed once again: "I still need to cultivate Astral Mages and Plane Scholars!"

The Plane Scholar, Aiboke, was already studying, and as for an Astral Mage, Xia Duo already had a suitable candidate—not the death priest Mote in the territory, but Dewan.

Xia Duo had talked to Mote about learning magic, but the other party had no interest in magic and was solely devoted to serving death, so Xia Duo could not force it, and Dewan seemed to be a more suitable choice.

He was originally a Mage Apprentice, but later, because his family was saved by a priest of the Lord of Radiance, his faith in the Lord of Radiance deepened. Afterward, he even perceived Holy Power and became an official Divine Magic spellcaster.

But since then, he had not given up on magic, and he had not even left the Tower of Time; now, he had also become an Official Mage—an Arcane Spellcaster.

However, because an Astral Mage needs to invest their spirit into the Astral Plane for a long time to assist the Plane Exploration Array in searching for Projection Planes, this leads to two consequences. One is that the time available for magic research is greatly reduced, which can be said to basically cut off the path of an Arcanist.

The other is the reason of the Astral Plane itself: long-term investment of spirit into it will make an Astral Mage become more sensitive and neurotic; in layman's terms, they might develop a mental illness.

Thinking it over carefully, Xia Duo still could not bear to let Dewan do such a thing. However, having found no Projection Planes in this entire month, Xia Duo had had in-depth conversations with Aiboke and Niya, and he had gained a clearer understanding of Astral Mages.

Initially, the Astral Mage was just a method for Clerics to perform perception training; it only gradually became an official profession later. Besides the two disadvantages mentioned above, there are also many benefits to becoming an Astral Mage.

There are roughly two ultimate achievements for an Astral Mage: one is the Divine Magic path, becoming a Legendary priest, and the other is the Arcane path, where the spirit and will completely detach from the Main Plane to become an Eternal Holy Spirit of the Astral Plane.

Currently, there have been Astral Mages who have achieved both of these. The strength and status of a Legendary priest are naturally self-evident.

And even though it is difficult to enter the Main Plane again after becoming an Eternal Holy Spirit, and their power is very limited (approximately equal to the strength of an Arcane Spellcaster), they can possess eternal life, and at the same time, Projection Planes are real planes to them, which they can roam at will.

At the same time, Niya revealed that the Giles Tower, to which the Princess belongs, once produced an Eternal Holy Spirit. It is said that that Eternal Holy Spirit was able to bring real people or objects from Projection Planes into the Main Plane.

With these two achievements, Xia Duo was no longer opposed to letting Dewan become an Astral Mage. He would have an open and honest talk with Dewan, and let him decide for himself whether to become an Astral Mage.

Of course, one Astral Mage is far from enough; Xia Duo needs more, the more the better!

After checking the Plane Exploration Array, Xia Duo left the Tower of Time with slight disappointment. Aiboke was already waiting for him in Savile Town.

Savile Town, port.

A cargo ship flying the flag of Rodney Territory pulled up to the pier. Porters dressed in Commoner clothes went back and forth, constantly moving various supplies off it. When Xia Duo flew here from the Portal next to the original site of the Tower of Time, the first thing he noticed was those unfamiliar porters.

The porters of Savile Territory all had a unified style of dress, and even for the few Slaves, the territory stipulated that they must have clear identification marks, such as chains, shackles, or tattoos and brands.

These were not regulations made after Xia Duo became the acting lord, but an effective management method that the port had explored and found for itself during long-term management.

This ship brought its own porters; it was clearly disregarding Savile Territory.

Aiboke's position was very conspicuous, right on the embankment not far from the pier, watching coldly as those porters unloaded the supplies from the ship.

Xia Duo landed and asked, "Where is the Archmage Niuman you mentioned earlier?"

"On the ship. Do you still want to see him?" Aiboke said with a smile.

Xia Duo shook his head; he just wanted to confirm the location of that Archmage who was an enemy rather than a friend and also possessed great power. "Since we are not on the same path, there is no need to meet. By the way, have their docking fees and transit taxes been paid?"

"Paid. Archmage Niuman came ashore to settle them himself!"

As they were speaking, a series of clattering horse hooves and creaking wheel sounds came from not far away. Cargo carriages were slowly driving from the Trade District to the port.

Leading them was none other than Priest Ke'er, who had been banished by Xia Duo two months ago after his self-Jiusu!

Seeing this, Xia Duo was no longer prepared to watch; it was simply frustrating! It was obvious that the Rodney Lord had sent people to open up territory in the Green Pearl Forest, yet nothing could be done about it here. Otherwise, not only would it be impossible to explain to the Princess, but the Rodney Territory, which was stuck on the Netheril River, would take the same action.

As far as the current situation is concerned, neither side is accustomed to collisions outside the rules.

Before long, all the supplies on the ship were unloaded, and those porters began to load the supplies onto the carriages again. Watching them repeatedly moving things like this, Xia Duo said a word to Aiboke and prepared to leave first.

However, before returning to the Tower of Time, Xia Duo sent a Sending to Dailike, asking him to find out the list of chambers of commerce providing carriages to Rodney Territory, considering it a blacklist for now.

Afterward, Aiboke stayed there to continue watching, and Xia Duo returned to the Tower of Time.

(End of chapter)