Chapter 688: Entrusting an Orphan, Riding the Clouds and Driving the Mist

"It's nothing, it's just that the current situation has undergone some unpredictable changes. You can just take it as the impact brought by the Elf refugees. In short, we really need to abandon this place."

Aozikaer said indifferently, his tone carrying a complex emotion that was hard to describe or explain. In fact, if he had a choice, he would never have chosen the Green Pearl Forest as his target for expansion in the first place.

Abandoning the land here now could be considered a return to the original plan, but could they really go back?

Looking at Aozikaer Lord, who had suddenly become somewhat lost before him, Niuman actually felt a sense of desolation from him, so he couldn't help but say: "If there is anything Niuman needs to do, my Lord, just give the order! Without you, there would be no Niuman today."

"You—are very good!" Aozikaer looked at Niuman carefully and caught a trace of determination in the other's eyes. Aozikaer did not doubt him; if an Archmage had fallen to the point of acting like this, then no matter what result he obtained, he would accept it calmly.

However, Aozikaer still did not reveal his inner worries to Niuman, only hinting: "You are different from them; I trust you!"

This sentence made Niuman somewhat confused as well, but before he could ask, Aozikaer said again: "After the matters here are concluded, I will recommend you to go to Jilan Tower for further studies. Take Xiuyi with you!"

"My Lord?!"

Niuman's eyes suddenly became incomparably sharp. Going to Jilan Tower for further studies was nothing; the Lord's ancestors originally came from Jilan Tower, and even without this connection, as an Archmage, it would not be difficult for him to enter Jilan Tower.

The problem was taking Xiuyi along!

Xiuyi was the one with the most magical talent among Aozikaer Lord's many offspring. The Bishop of the territory had once prophesied that Xiuyi had an incomparably bright future. Usually, Xiuyi was also taught personally by the Lord and was dearly loved.

But according to what the Lord meant, he wanted to entrust Xiuyi to him?

Niuman could not figure out why the Lord would suddenly make such a decision that was almost like entrusting an orphan. And who were "they"? Were they others within the territory? Or someone from the outside?

"You don't need to think too much, just do as I say!"

Niuman hesitated for a moment, did not ask further, and instead went to arrange accommodation for Aozikaer Lord for the night.

……

Early the next morning, Xia Duo suddenly opened his eyes from the bed. He subconsciously reached out to touch the bedsheet beneath him, and only after confirming there was no dampness did he let out a sigh of relief.

But then he frowned again; he had awakened his bloodline again yesterday!

In that magical dream, he had once again transformed into the Yangtze River, traversing mountains, valleys, and plains, merging into the East Sea all the way, then rising as water vapor, turning into storms and thunder, and finally falling as rain again, completing a cycle.

Awakening the bloodline was originally a good thing, and he had indeed hoped for his bloodline to awaken again before, but this time it seemed to have awakened a bit too much—

It actually allowed him to directly come into contact with the 6th Layer of the Magic Net.

This did not match his original plan, because once he came into contact with the 6th Layer of the Magic Net, it meant he could no longer create Arcane Fire at will. Originally, he had wanted to wait until after the Dragon Disaster to go to Leisen Territory to find a way to downgrade.

Only after finding a way to downgrade would he level up; otherwise, if an accident happened to his Arcane Fire, it would almost cut off his hope of becoming a Great Arcanist!

It was just unexpected that before he could even set off, he had already leveled up first; his bloodline had directly made the choice for him.

"Sigh—what kind of mess is this!"

But since things had reached this point, Xia Duo could only choose to accept it. However, this made his intention to go to Leisen Territory to find a way to downgrade even firmer.

But at the same time, he also had a faint bad premonition in his heart, which was that the Leisen Lord's experience in downgrading might not necessarily be applicable to him. After all, downgrading shouldn't just erase the bloodline, right!

His current bloodline could already naturally support him in coming into contact with the 6th Layer of the Magic Net; what the hell was this!

The perfect bloodline advancement path in Xia Duo's heart was to stay at the 5th-ring level, and then, after he became a Great Arcanist, have it erupt all at once.

But reality is always unsatisfactory; besides accepting it, what else could he do!

Xia Duo lay relaxed on the bed, closing his eyes to carefully experience the new ability this bloodline awakening had brought him. If it were too poor, he really wouldn't know how to complain about it!

Feeling the throbbing of his bloodline and following a certain special instinct, Xia Duo suddenly opened his eyes. He discovered that he was actually floating above the bed, and beneath him was no longer the bedsheet, but a wisp of faint, flickering clouds and mist.

"Riding the clouds and driving the mist?"

Xia Duo discovered that there were indeed clouds and mist accompanying him, but he wasn't flying because of those clouds and mist; rather, his body naturally possessed the ability to fly.

This feeling was hard to describe; it was just like how he could open his mouth or blink his eyes—it was an instinctive behavior.

Xia Duo tried to move, and sure enough, as long as he had the thought, his body would naturally react, moving in the direction he wanted to go, as simple as reaching out a hand.

After several attempts, Xia Duo couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. If it were just flying, he had already mastered Flight long ago. Although it wasn't as convenient as the bloodline ability, it had great potential.

Whether used for himself or for crafting specialized Flight Magic Items, he could find the most suitable way to fly.

And the flight from the bloodline ability seemed to only have this one way, and Xia Duo discovered that as long as he flew, clouds and mist would appear around him. Although they were very thin and flickering, this was indeed somewhat inconvenient.

"Chicken ribs!"

Xia Duo really didn't know what to say. This time, the bloodline awakening hadn't brought him many benefits, but a whole bunch of disadvantages.

……

After finishing breakfast, Xia Duo stopped thinking about such frustrating matters regarding his bloodline. He strolled to the Tilake Research Lab, preparing to see how far the mass-production design of the new commercial Communication Magic Tool had progressed.

Just as he entered the Research Lab, the previously somewhat noisy room instantly quieted down. One by one, the members bowed and greeted Xia Duo before immediately turning their focus back to the work at hand.

Xia Duo didn't mind and found Tilake to ask him about the progress of mass production.

"Uh—"

Tilake seemed a bit nervous, not even making eye contact with Xia Duo, but looking at the ground and saying cautiously:

"Currently, we have already broken down all the production processes—for commoners, for Apprentices, and for Official Mages. We are just waiting for the former Apprentices you mentioned to arrive, and then we can begin trial production."

"They haven't arrived yet?" Xia Duo frowned. He had asked the External Affairs Mage to notify Saier Town Mayor several days ago; he hadn't expected that they still hadn't arrived by now. This efficiency was a bit slow!

However, this couldn't be blamed on Tilake, so Xia Duo asked again: "Then what about the people you recruited at the Tower of Time before?"

He was referring to the matter of other members of the Tilake Research Lab going to take on Apprentice teaching tasks and recruiting Magic Technicians on the side.

Tilake hesitated for a moment and replied: "There weren't many Apprentices willing to become Magic Technicians to begin with, and later the Tower of Time prohibited recruiting Apprentices with less than two years of tenure. Now we have only recruited three people, which is not enough to carry out a complete trial production process. Should I let them try it first?"

"You can." Xia Duo nodded, then gave instructions: "Let them familiarize themselves with the process flow first and cultivate them to become technical backbones; it will be easier to lead newcomers later."

"Yes."

Just as Xia Duo was about to continue, the Tower Spirit suddenly sent a prompt—the Tower Master was summoning him. At the same time, Niya's slightly anxious voice also came over: "Come over here, Rodney Lord has suddenly appeared in Savile Town, and he wants to come and visit!"

Rodney Lord?

There had been too many things happening recently, and Xia Duo had almost forgotten this name. He hadn't expected it to appear before him again inadvertently.

Xia Duo did not delay, hurriedly leaving behind the words, "Something has come up temporarily, there are still some things to do, I'll talk to you when I return," and accepted the Tower Spirit's teleportation request.

After he left, Tilake suddenly let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat that had faintly broken out on his forehead, and the Research Lab soon became lively again.