Chapter 101: The Essence of Mage Level Advancement

Naimi Xisi understood the other's meaning: the great nobles of the Yinbu Tu Kingdom, because the king had no heir, had different ideas, and moreover the king had not appeared before anyone for several years, many even suspected Saint Delis had already died.

The queen faction did not want to relinquish its power, but the princes waiting to ascend and the great nobles dissatisfied with the Regent Grand Judge disagreed.

"I hope you can join us; if you are interested, the royal family can give you a reward that will surely satisfy you," Lai Aorui Er stared at Naimi Xisi, speaking word by word.

Naimi Xisi pondered, then smiled and politely declined: "I have no intention of getting involved in your human politics for the time being; if possible, I hope the royal family can first settle the reward they previously promised me."

Lai Aorui Er sighed and said: "Of course, I have already prepared the reward."

He snapped his fingers, and a huge wooden crate appeared at his feet; with a "Bang" it automatically opened its lid.

Various magical gems were packed tightly, dazzling Naimi Xisi's eyes—cat's‑eye stones, obsidian, ruby, amethyst, and so on. Even if Naimi Xisi ate them all, they would last him two years and greatly accelerate his growth speed.

That was not all; Lai Aorui Er also produced a heavy Spellbook and handed it to Naimi Xisi.

"This Spellbook records all the six‑ring spells owned by the royal family, and it is part of the reward. If you later change your mind and choose to join us, the 7‑8 ring spells will also be opened to you."

Naimi Xisi's eyes lit up, yet he still kept his composure, accepted the Spellbook and gems, nodded modestly, and after bidding farewell to Lai Aorui Er, left the palace.

As he stepped out, images of the glittering gems and the precious six‑ring Spellbook replayed in his mind; although he was not yet qualified to cast six‑ring spells, he believed that day was not far off.

Research on protective magic greatly broadened his view of Arcane Power; compared with breaking through the Adult Stage, his Mage profession level would likely rise faster, but without the boost of a Sorcerer rank, Naimi Xisi would have to improve his Mage level like ordinary people—buying large amounts of experimental materials, conducting many spell experiments, and accumulating sufficient knowledge.

Mage level advancement is a very complex and immeasurable matter; simply increasing Spiritual Power is useless, and mastering vast knowledge is also useless.

Spiritual Power is only the foundation for Mage level advancement; they also need to improve their personal understanding of Arcane Power and even the Magic Net through experiments and developing new spells before they can advance.

In short, copying others' knowledge or Spell Models, a kind of forced growth, is ineffective; even when studying an existing spell, a Mage must dissect it from scratch, experiment, and walk through it with his own thinking to truly obtain "knowledge."

In fact, from Naimi Xisi's perspective, this behavior is less about learning knowledge and more about establishing a Mage's personal materialist worldview, since materialism requires practice to yield true knowledge; even if you acquire knowledge, without practice it cannot be called yours.

Only after undergoing this process does the materialist worldview gain a firmer growth, thereby achieving advancement.

Ultimately, both Mage and Psychic Sorcerer build their inner worlds and thoughts as they climb the path of the extraordinary.

Thus, the Sorcerer—those born with the ability to cast spells—are envied by Mages; even without constructing a materialist worldview, the growth of their bloodline automatically raises their level in the Magic Net.

While Naimi Xisi was pondering, a middle‑aged man in splendid attire walked up to him and called out; he had thick eyebrows, large eyes, golden hair, brown eyes, a massively built frame, and his robe could not conceal his bear‑like physique—his bulky muscles even lifted the fabric on his shoulders.

"Mr. Naimi Xisi?"

"Is there something you need?"

As soon as Naimi Xisi finished asking, Losi Lien, riding ahead in the carriage, saw them from afar, walked over in surprise, and cheerfully greeted the man: "Lei En, long time no see."

The man was startled for a moment upon seeing Losi Lien, then laughed loudly, embraced Losi Lien, patted his back, and his palm, like a fan, smacked the frail half‑elf repeatedly, making him cough; the half‑elf struggled out of the embrace, silently fixing his disheveled hair.

"Losi Lien, what are you doing here?"

Facing the question, Losi Lien first glanced obliquely at Juan Ce Long, then explained: "I belong to a Mage guild with Lord Naimi Xisi; he is my superior, and I am accompanying him."

The half‑elf, facing an old friend, did not directly call him his master—partly due to a small vanity, partly fearing his words would cause Prince Lei En to become hostile toward Naimi Xisi.

"That's great!" the man exclaimed, looking at Naimi Xisi with a bright smile: "Hello, I am Prince Lei En, also Losi Lien's childhood playmate."

Naimi Xisi gave a slight smile, no longer the coldness he showed toward Lai Aorui Er; for a friend's dependents, he was willing to keep basic goodwill. Juan Ce Long was very clear about the division between his own people. He trusted those he trusted, offering generosity, while those he did not trust would require him to use everything to earn his trust.

"Hello, Prince Lei En. In fact, Losi Lien suggested that I come to the capital to visit you."

Lei En was momentarily stunned, looked gratefully at Losi Lien, then smiled: "Perfect, tonight I am hosting a gathering at the Prince's Mansion, and I hope Lord Naimi Xisi will…"

"I will come." Naimi Xisi interrupted, smiling to give his promise. Prince Lei En laughed heartily, left satisfied, and Losi Lien looked appreciatively at Juan Ce Long; he knew the man's temperament well and understood that accepting the Prince's invitation was also Naimi Xisi saving face.

Naimi Xisi boarded the carriage, looked toward the palace and curled his lip: "Let's go, there's a party tonight."

He was very eager, eager to see what the hostile princes and great nobles sounded like from Lai Aorui Er's mouth; this was also why he had not immediately agreed to Lai Aorui Er.

He had already planned to take part and reap greater benefits, but choosing sides still required comparing the two sides' strengths. — When Naimi Xisi arrived at the Prince's Mansion, there was half an hour before the ball began; he wore a tailcoat, a black five‑pointed‑star gem pinned to his chest against his fair skin, his silver hair tied into a wolf's tail at the back, making him exceedingly handsome.

At this moment, Colette was also by his side; attending a gathering requires a female companion as basic human‑society knowledge. After learning this from Colette, he had her wear a splendid long dress to accompany him, even though the dress made the armor‑accustomed Colette feel uncomfortable all over.

He escorted Colette into the brightly lit grand hall; by then the guests were essentially all present, making the atmosphere very lively.

The handsome, noble silver‑haired youth's entrance immediately attracted many guests, especially the female guests' attention; they glanced at the stranger from the corner of their eyes, whispering.

Unfortunately, he already had an elegant female companion at his side.

Several impeccably dressed nobles approached to greet him, but the socially‑inept Naimi Xisi only bowed his head; the helpless Colette had to act as a lubricant, receiving each greeting on his behalf.

Soon, the rumor that the silver‑haired youth was "rather aloof, disdainful of conversation" spread through the ball, and the remaining nobles lost the desire to talk, fearing a hot face meeting a cold butt, leaving Naimi Xisi alone.

He was very unaccustomed to such a setting; wave after wave of strangers—no, irrelevant strangers—kept greeting him, leaving him both bewildered and extremely impatient.

With the interruptions gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the long banquet table at the edge of the dance floor, which was laden with various delicate foods: diced roast meat, rolled ham, assorted fruits and cake pastries, all skewered on toothpicks in miniature size for guests to eat elegantly without affecting appearance.

Naimi Xisi lifted a plate of caviar, scooped a spoonful, and found a fishy taste he was not used to; the sweet‑to‑taste Juan Ce Long grimaced and set the caviar aside, tossing cheese‑cake cubes into his mouth, enjoying the sugary indulgence that enthralled the dragon.

Soon, while he was enjoying the food, the ball officially began; the Prince Lei En who had invited him appeared on the second‑floor staircase, spreading his arms to welcome everyone.

All the nobles, seeing Prince Lei En appear, became serious, especially when a gray‑haired old man showed up beside him, their eyes filled with respect.

Naimi Xisi knew that all the nobles present tonight should be opposed to the queen faction.

"Welcome, everyone, to my ball, people who fight for Butu Kingdom's glory."

"I believe that everyone standing here tonight harbors opposition to Lai Aorui Er, that treasonous coward."

"How long has His Majesty the King not appeared before us? How long have you not seen him? Queen Elizabeth, that woman, openly prevented my own brother from seeing him, which already explains the problem!"

"Once again, I must reiterate here! We need a solid, reliable royal family!"

The nobles applauded, largely agreeing with Prince Lei En's words; a strong, capable king is the foundation of the Yinbu Tu Kingdom, and if Saint Delis truly can no longer serve, a sufficiently powerful royal member must ascend.

"Someone like you?" Naimi Xisi thought, curling his lip; Prince Lei En was indeed a good candidate for king—a 17‑level professional, and with royal blood he was undoubtedly the core of the anti‑queen faction.

However, that old man was no ordinary figure.

Naimi Xisi looked at the man beside Prince Lei En, squinted; his Mind Power could not detect the man's strength, as the man was protected by a powerful Psychic Ability.

The elder seemed to sense something, looked at Naimi Xisi, curled his lip, and waved at him; the nobles, bewildered by the elder's gesture, looked in that direction but only saw a youth eating at the banquet table.

Prince Lei En also saw it, laughed heartily, and shouted to the crowd: "Lord Naimi Xisi, you have arrived; this gathering truly makes me happy, not only with the old duke's participation but also with such an unexpected guest."

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give a grand introduction: this is the hero who saved Degeng City—the Lord Naimi Xisi!"

The nobles were surprised by Prince Lei En's enthusiasm and curiously looked at the youth.

At this moment, Naimi Xisi remained expressionless; inside he was cursing the man, for he truly, truly hated being the focus of attention.

(End of chapter)