Chapter 481: A Visit from a Great Arcanist

However, reality is often unexpected. Just as Xia Duo was focusing all his mental direction on Huo Ke Territory, the Tower Spirit suddenly sent him an unexpected piece of news—Great Arcanist Bailun was visiting!

Bailun was one of the Great Arcanists Xia Duo knew relatively well; he originated from Gustav Tower, later switched to Giles Tower, and after becoming a Great Arcanist himself, he even cultivated the Princess into a Great Arcanist.

His entire life experience was quite legendary.

Of course, Master Bailun was most famous for creating a highly universal Life Extension Magic, though the threshold for spellcasting was also very high; it could extend the lifespan of a normal human by one to two times, known to the outside world as 【Bailun Changsheng Shu】.

He also gained immense prestige among the Arcanist community because of this.

The Tower of Time also had Life Extension Magic, but the effects were not ideal, only able to extend life by ten to thirty years; of course, these were without any side effects.

Most Life Extension Magic in Netheril had various side effects, the most extreme being the transformation of the human body into an Undead, which would cause the Spellcaster to lose normal human emotions, including desires—thinking about it was terrifying.

Xia Duo really could not figure out why Bailun would come to the Tower of Time; the two had no intersection at all. Even if the Princess had something to instruct, Archmage Greta had always been the one to run errands before.

It couldn't be that he came specifically to deliver Life Extension Magic to him! From beginning to end, Xia Duo had never thought that Master Bailun was the mysterious Mage who had just scared him into running away, until he invited the other party into the Reception Room and Master Bailun's first sentence made Xia Duo suddenly realize:

"Lord Xia Duo, you ran away too fast just now; the old man didn't even have time to say a complete sentence!"

The Master's tone sounded like blame, yet also like a joke, making Xia Duo's heart drum with anxiety. Regarding this, he only gave a sheepish smile, not daring to offer any rebuttal.

He truly did not believe a Great Arcanist would be so idle as to come specifically to joke with him; there must be a reason behind this that he did not understand. There was no need for Mages to beat around the bush, especially between high and low ranks; asking directly was the best choice.

"Master Bailun, what instructions do you have for me?"

"No need to be so serious!" Bailun waved his hand, but although he said that, the expression on his own face still unconsciously became serious, "There is one thing I must tell you!"

"Please speak, Master."

Bailun took out the scrap of paper he had picked up after following Xia Duo, as well as that Mithril Block disguised as a stone, and placed them on the table at his side. His finger tapped on the light brown paper scrap and he said, "This kind of paper, do not make it again in the future!"

"Why?" Xia Duo asked subconsciously, but he immediately reacted, realizing the person before him was a Great Arcanist whose power and insight far exceeded his own.

"No, Master, I mean, the cost of this kind of paper is very low; if it were used to replace Parchment for daily records, it would be very convenient!"

Xia Duo spoke very vaguely and did not directly mention the popularization of Knowledge; after all, he did not know what attitude this Great Arcanist had toward the popularization of Knowledge.

But any normal person would understand what a reduction in the cost of the carrier of Knowledge meant, let alone a Great Arcanist who had lived for hundreds of years with Wisdom as deep as the sea! This could also be considered Xia Duo's probe; if the other party was an extreme conservative, he would have to consider changing camps at an appropriate time.

"Lord Xia Duo, I am not one of those stubborn old men who only know how to suppress the younger generation. I can see the prospects of this paper, and I am happy to see it, but at least in the short term, do not manufacture it again. As for the reason—"

Speaking to this point, Bailun could not help but sigh, and his tone also became gloomy, "In the past, there were also people who invented the Paper-making Technique or other things beneficial to the development of the era, but later these people all died inexplicably. Can you guess why?"

"Because of the Elf?" Xia Duo subconsciously said the greatest hypothetical enemy he could think of.

"There are Elves, but that is not entirely it. There are always people who cannot stand others being the same as them; you must know that this world is not as beautiful as it looks."

Xia Duo understood in a second. Looking at it this way, Bailun should be considered a member of the enlightened faction. But the next moment, Xia Duo felt ridiculous for his previous guess; it was very clear that Bailun was in the same camp as the Princess. The Princess opened up new living spaces for ordinary people—if this didn't count as the enlightened faction, or rather the popular faction, then who would? Of course, Xia Duo also knew there might be more complex reasons behind the Pioneer movement, but objectively speaking, the Princess indeed represented the interests of ordinary people, at least in terms of opening up living spaces.

Once a persona was established and a group of supporters gathered, involving a string of interests, even a Great Arcanist would find it hard to flip-flop!

"By the way, Master, how did you know I was making paper?" If this question was not clarified, he would have to be suspicious of everything he did in the future.

Regarding this, Bailun did not hide it, "A little trick of Prophecy, providing early warnings for certain specific behaviors that appear within the Nether Territory. However, under normal circumstances, Prophecy is very difficult to predict in advance; it is usually discovered after the fact."

"You lot of Pioneers are under a lot of attention. I discovered it when you were manufacturing wood pulp. Later, I tampered with the prophecy information for you and then teleported over to remind you. I didn't expect—"

With the matter clarified, the doubts in Xia Duo's heart lessened.

Prophecy was actually a type of Scrying spell. The 【Detect Detection】 and 【Avoid Detection】 spells Xia Duo had cast on himself could effectively guard against it, but those were aimed at individuals.

He had not expected that there were actually large-scale Scrying spells aimed at specific behaviors and events.

But since he knew the reason, he could also create specific targeted spells. This time it was Bailun who came to give a verbal reminder; if next time it was an Elf or someone else coming to use a spell to "remind" him, that would not be pleasant.

However, there was one more question, "Master, will there really be no one else detecting it?"

It was not that Xia Duo was timid, but if it were detected by others, many of his plans would have to change because of it. At the very least, he did not want to be one of the people Bailun mentioned who disappeared inexplicably.

"Even the gods would not dare to say 'absolute'. However, you Pioneers are already under the information shielding of Giles Tower, and I handled it very quickly before. Unless outsiders target you deliberately, it is very difficult to discover you."

Hearing this, Xia Duo could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, but then he thought of Lord Huo Ke, who was said to be very close to a Great Arcanist—would this guy keep staring at him? "What? Any other questions? I can answer them all today."

Bailun could be considered to know Xia Duo quite well. Not to mention the basic investigation into the Pioneers, Xia Duo's current status as Tower Master Proxy of the Tower of Time also made Bailun attach great importance to him.

Saville's return was imminent; at that time, the Tower of Time would become a strong pillar for the Princess, and Xia Duo would also become an important character. Bailun still thought highly of Xia Duo.

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(End of this chapter)