Chapter 886: Burdened by Fame, Hidden by Renown

Previously, Xia Duo discovered that the collision of that unknown power caused no harm to his soul; rather, it was like countless forging hammers, continuously tempering his soul and making it grow stronger.

This process of strengthening was something he could feel within a short period of time.

But now, as the Cloud Qi increased and the soul radiance grew intense, Xia Duo felt an unusual pain in his soul, as if the forging force were too great, exceeding the tolerance limit of the object being forged!

This was certainly not a good thing!

Xia Duo hurriedly exited his state of extreme focus, jumped up from the bed, and took several large gulps of "Bonu Original Leaf" tea. Only after his spirit felt somewhat relieved did he earnestly consider how to handle this matter.

But after thinking it over, he could not come up with any good solutions. After all, this was a matter of the soul domain; Netherese Mages did not have much research on the soul to begin with, and coupled with his own special bloodline, he truly felt at a loss for how to proceed!

"Burdened by fame!" Xia Duo could not help but sigh.

Just a short while ago, he had been considering how to make a name for himself in Seventon to accumulate power for his next bloodline awakening, but now he was somewhat avoiding fame.

He certainly didn't want to suffer some unknown soul damage before his bloodline even awakened!

"Who on earth is harming me!"

Xia Duo knew he had stood out in the Green Field Plane, but people always have selfish motives; who would gratuitously build a reputation for someone else?

Just now, Poluokan mentioned that his name was circulating in Asikeer, Eilintar, Taiweimansa, and Kemansuoer; this was clearly spread by someone on purpose!

Otherwise, within just a day or two, how could the name of an ordinary human Mage reach the Dwarven Kingdom of Daanzo, as well as the Elven Yierlan and Kemansuoer?

This was simply too exaggerated!

Almost instantly, Xia Duo thought that besides the Seven Towers, there were likely others who could do such a thing, and it was unlikely for anyone else to do it.

"Truly friendly fire!"

Xia Duo did not know what plans the Seven Towers had, but it was clear this was already hindering him.

Although the other party might not know about the special nature of his soul, even so, it would not have been difficult to drop a hint in plans involving him.

This matter took root in his heart, continuously squeezing his impression of the Seven Towers.

Previously, even with the forced conscription, the Seven Towers had acted in a straightforward manner; various rules were clear, there was advance notice and collective training, and one could even refuse by paying a certain price if they did not wish to participate.

But this sudden, self-willed action now made Xia Duo feel very repulsed.

As a modern person who transmigrated from Earth, Xia Duo valued the right to choose.

On Earth, certain powerful units or organizations, even if they clearly had the strength to coerce, would still grant ordinary people the right to choose for themselves.

Even if this right might be another form of packaged coercion, at least it was packaged, and at least there was a shred of respect in it.

Unlike now, this fame spread without asking, even if it could be considered a good thing in some sense, but not asking him beforehand directly hit Xia Duo's bottom line.

Especially since the current Xia Duo was no longer the panicked, ordinary transmigrator he once was; he was a High Mage, an Arcanist, and was about to become a Senior Arcanist, or even a Great Arcanist!

Once a person has strength and confidence, and has escaped the survival crisis, they naturally demand more respect; this is also a normal human need.

……

Draining the tea in his cup, Xia Duo first contacted Poluokan to ask about the sales of the Tower of Time's Communication Magic Tools, and only after chatting for a bit did he interrupt the exchange.

Holding the now-dimmed Communication Magic Tool, the more Xia Duo thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. He had to speak up regarding the spreading of his name; otherwise, if he could be arranged once, there might be more in the future.

He no longer needed to swallow his anger. After thinking it over, he sought out Archmage Greta; he did not dare to contact the Princess directly, and even hinting through Niya was somewhat inappropriate.

Reacting to Greta, the Manager of Giles Tower and a follower of the Princess, was just right; it allowed his opinion to be known by those above without being too blunt and blowing the matter out of proportion.

Xia Duo's Sending was soon answered by the Archmage. Greta's tone in the Sending was relaxed, as if she were in a good mood:

"Lord Xia Duo, do you have any questions about the Seven Cities Council's inspection? Or is there a problem with the Spellbook?"

Mentioning the Spellbook, Xia Duo hadn't even had the time to take a look at it, but there was no need to tell Greta that. He quickly replied via Sending:

"No, Master Greta, I wanted to ask about another matter. I just heard that my name has reached Daanzo and Kemansuoer, which makes me feel apprehensive. May I ask what I should do next, Archmage?"

Direct questioning was not feasible. Although Xia Duo was very certain that only the Seven Towers could do such a thing, it was ultimately just a guess without sufficient evidence.

Even if there were, confronting them directly was not a wise approach.

After Xia Duo sent the message, the Archmage did not reply immediately. Not only did she not reply immediately, but even after Xia Duo had finished two cups of tea, the Archmage's reply had not arrived.

This couldn't help but make him think that perhaps it wasn't the Seven Towers' doing, but he quickly denied it—besides the Seven Towers, who else would spread his name for him?

This depended on cost and benefit; others had absolutely no reason to do such a thing.

Just as Xia Duo was drinking his fourth cup of tea, Archmage Greta's reply finally came:

"I just went to look into it. This matter involves certain secrets that I cannot disclose to you. However, you need not worry; this matter only has benefits for you, no harm!"

"……"

When Xia Duo received this message, he felt his heart go cold. "Only benefits and no harm"—then what about his soul?

Just as Xia Duo was considering how to refuse this "benefit" without mentioning his soul, Greta sent another message:

"Do not delve too deeply into this matter; just act as if it never happened. Go back and prepare well for the Seven Cities Council's inspection. If you have any problems, notify me. Her Highness the Princess values you highly and hopes you will not disappoint her."

"……"

Xia Duo was speechless again, though Greta's explanation was barely satisfactory to him, at least it was an explanation, even if not a complete one.

If it weren't for the soul issue, he would be willing to let it pass, but the problem was, it existed!

This was troublesome!

At this moment, Xia Duo's brain was spinning wildly, trying to find a reasonable excuse that wouldn't expose the special nature of his soul.

Just then, Niya walked in with a smile on her face. She was holding a Communication Magic Tool, as if she had just finished a pleasant conversation and wanted to share the content with Xia Duo.

However, upon seeing Xia Duo's grave expression, Niya restrained her smile, came to his side, and asked softly:

"What's wrong? Is the Meditation not going well?"