Chapter 767: Mechanical Mind

Eternal Song City, the temple of the Goddess of Vengeance.

Lei En and Regent As Qiongge held a simple yet solemn ceremony before the statue of the Goddess of Vengeance, formally concluding an alliance and becoming a mutual defense pact.

The blood elves fully accepted Lei En's terms, and within half a month will dispatch five thousand blood knights to Getan to pledge personal allegiance to Lei En. Additionally, twenty thousand blood elves will, over the next three months, gradually relocate to Gotham City.

These twenty‑five thousand blood elves now leave Eternal Song City, becoming subjects under Lei En's rule.

Of course, Lei En must also fulfill his obligations, providing his blood knights with Sunlight Blood and selling a batch of Sunlight Blood to Eternal Song City each month.

The promise to bring down Fu Kong Cheng within six months remains in effect.

Beyond that, the two sides will establish a teleportation array between the cities and station permanent representatives for timely communication.

Lei En and the Regent will also meet regularly, at least once a year.

"Glory belongs to Eternal Song City!"

"Vengeance is within sight!"

After the pact was sealed, As Qiongge and the attending blood elves shouted in unison; he bowed solemnly to Lei En and earnestly said, "Speaker Lei En, please treat my people kindly."

"Regent, rest assured, I will cherish every subject," Lei En replied gravely.

"I believe in Speaker Lei En's noble character."

As Qiongge nodded, then looked toward Countess Li Feilin seated below, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, and asked, "Lady, will you not reconsider, change your mind? The blood knights of Eternal Song City need your guidance, especially now; I and the blood knights need you even more."

Around them, several senior blood elves—Grand Mage Romans, Ranger General Ha Du Lun, and a host of legendary blood elves—fixed their gazes on Li Feilin, full of confusion and incomprehension.

Li Feilin herself showed no hesitation, shaking her head firmly.

"My mind is made up."

The stunningly beautiful blood elf said, "The blood knights' issue already has a solution; the future is bright, and they no longer need my leadership. Regent, your wisdom will surely guide the blood knights to protect Eternal Song City and select a better blood knight commander."

"But..." As Qiongge, who had always appeared resolute, showed a hint of anxiety.

But Li Feilin was unmoved, "The five thousand blood knights in Gotham City also need a commander, and there are twenty thousand of our people; they need my leadership even more."

"We can replace her; it's not necessary for the lady to go to Gotham as the ally's representative," Ha Du Lun suggested.

Li Feilin retorted, "Replace her with whom?"

The Regent and the blood elves fell silent.

Lei En did not interject; in truth, he was surprised when he learned Li Feilin would come to Gotham.

Although Li Feilin would serve only as the blood elves' resident representative in Gotham, not fully severing ties with Eternal Song City, she voluntarily pledged allegiance to herself, leading that five‑thousand‑strong blood knight corps.

Moreover, Li Feilin possesses the Santara residence, which will be merged into Gotham City.

Over thirteen hundred blood elves residing in the Santara residence will follow Countess Li Feilin and become Gotham's inhabitants.

In name, Li Feilin remains a blood elf aristocrat, but in practice she drifts farther from Eternal Song City, will reside long‑term in Gotham City, and grow closer to Lei En.

As Qiongge and the blood elves expressed incomprehension, urging for a long time.

Yet Li Feilin showed no sign of wavering.

Lei En, as an observer, saw some clues with his Soul Eye. Regent As Qiongge remains unmarried; he harbors affection for Li Feilin, deeply concealed and invisible on the surface. Yet Li Feilin holds no personal feelings for As Qiongge, and is rather cold toward him.

She is not only cold to the Regent, but also dislikes the senior blood elves, feeling an instinctive aversion.

This resentment prompted Li Feilin to leave Eternal Song City.

Lei En speculated that the past century‑plus of blood knights' hardships bred Li Feilin's grudge against the blood elf elite. Thus she led a contingent of blood knights away from Eternal Song City and established the Santara residence beneath Aibolaken.

Now the blood knights have gained recognition, their prospects and status secured, which should be a great boon.

But Li Feilin is already weary.

During a prior funeral, Lei En learned that the fallen former Chief Grand Mage Belova had founded the blood knight vocation.

Li Feilin regards Belova as her teacher; all along, Belova has supported her progress on the blood knight path.

Now Grand Mage Belova is dead, her family long gone, and Li Feilin has no reason to return to Eternal Song City.

Under multiple factors, Li Feilin chose to become part of Gotham.

Lei En naturally welcomes this.

Li Feilin is the most powerful blood knight, exceptionally gifted; she was originally Belova's mage apprentice and voluntarily became a blood knight. She has been at Legendary Peak for decades, yet a chronic headache hinders her from breaking into Saint Rank.

Now that Sunlight Blood is available, it not only relieves the headache torment but also greatly accelerates cultivation speed, giving her hope of advancing to Saint Rank!

Li Feilin is poised to become the world's first Saint Rank blood knight.

Lei En believes this should not defeat her; in the Lamon Empire, many Saint Rank Sun Knights are honored as "Divine Grace Knights." The holy light of blood knights is essentially the same as that of Sun Knights—a single energy manifested differently. By following the path of Divine Grace Knights, blood knights can also enjoy a bright future.

As Qiongge let out a long sigh and ceased urging.

Lei En immediately requested to depart.

The battle had been over for half a day, and a slew of matters still awaited him in Gotham City. Though Thundercast Celestial Soldiers act in his name, outsiders do not know they are his avatars, so many issues still require his personal handling.

"I'll escort you both," As Qiongge sent Lei En and Anxiwodasi out of the temple.

Before exiting the temple, Lei En glanced back at the statue.

The Goddess of Vengeance, Tixifen, is worshipped by most blood elves; even the island on which Eternal Song City sits is called Vengeance Island. Yet during this existential crisis for the blood elves, the Goddess showed no sign, and at least Lei En found no evidence of divine intervention.

He speculated two possibilities.

First, the Goddess may not value the blood elves enough. Her worshippers are scattered across the Ai Lun E Si world, present in every race; though a small proportion, they are widespread, with total numbers at least in the tens of millions.

The entire blood elf population is under three hundred thousand, about two‑thirds of whom follow the Vengeance Church.

This is insufficient to compel the Goddess to expend divine power, risking attack by an evil god under the Lord of the Dead, to leave the divine realm and intervene in mortal believers' survival. Even sending a divine avatar would be ineffective against the Celestial Disaster Legion and Fu Kong Cheng.

The second possibility is that the Goddess did act, but was blocked beyond the Prime Material Plane, unknown to mortals.

Regent As Qiongge, as the Divine Chosen of the Goddess of Vengeance, disclosed no information.

After the farewell, amid the blood elves' reverent gazes, with a booming sound, Anxiwodasi waved his hand, opening a spectacular flaming corridor in the sky, ushering Lei En inside.

Emerging from the corridor, Gotham City lay below.

Lei En surveyed his city; the battle had been fierce, but fortunately Gotham was originally empty, and aside from the craters bombarded by Electric Light Cannon, there was no other damage.

The dwarf priests are still purifying the undead corpses.

Beyond the city wall, the dwarf artisans have resumed construction, continuing to build the wall.

The master and disciple land in front of the highland fortress; Lei En walks into the hall and instantly feels an oppressive atmosphere emanating from the Titan Elder seated at the head.

Even though he has greatly restrained his aura, the demigod's intimidation of mortals—a shiver that pierces straight into the soul—makes both present people feel uneasy, trembling, and they stammer when faced with Suolim's questioning, unable to answer.

"Lei En, you finally returned."

King of the Hills Kestajin sees Lei En and is as delighted as if he had seen a savior.

Xikalius also shouts loudly, "Boss!"

Lei En chuckles to himself, waves his hand, "You've worked hard, go rest. I'll entertain Elder Suolim."

The two, as if granted a pardon, run out of the hall without looking back, not wanting to stay even a second.

"Lei En, you finally came back." Suolim stands, displeased, "These two guys, I asked for ages and still got no satisfactory answer." Then he nods to Anxiwodasi and calls, "Master Anxiwodasi."

"Elder Suolim," Anxiwodasi replies with a smile.

The two had met before, having waited for a long time in the teleportation hall of Sword Bay Town, discussing a joint plan to attack Fu Kong Cheng, so they were not strangers.

However, as peak powers of the Prime Material Plane, each harbors a degree of wariness toward the other.

On the surface they appear courteous, yet are hard to become close with.

Suolim is a demigod, following the path of apotheosis; Anxiwodasi is a pure spellcaster, exploring the truth of the magical path. Their common ground is few, differences many; though not extreme opposites, they still cannot align.

If not for Lei En as a link, the two would scarcely intersect.

After a few courteous words, Anxiwodasi steps into the teleportation array and returns to Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng.

Suolim, after he leaves, immediately asks, "Lei En, the Electric Light Cannon you use is powered by a Titan Furnace, right?"

Earlier Suolim seized Kestajin and Xikalius, questioning them at length about the Electric Light Cannon. Xikalius knows nothing beyond combat, so he couldn't answer. Kestajin holds the cannon's schematics, but he knows its importance well, gritting his teeth, claims ignorance.

Lei En knows this cannot hide from the Titan Elder's eyes and admits, "Yes."

"Impressive!"

Suolim exclaims in admiration.

He fixes his gaze on Lei En's face, shakes his head and laughs, "When I first exchanged the Titan Rune Technique with you, I thought you were like everyone else, incapable of producing any results. I didn't expect you to create a Titan Furnace, improve it, and shrink it to such a small size!"

Obviously, Suolim has already examined the Electric Light Cannon and seen the Titan Engine inside.

"Elder, you flatter me," Lei En says modestly.

"Hehe…" Suolim smiles, half‑seriously, "For 5,000 source crystals I sold you the giant race's tens of thousands of years of wisdom crystallized. I've never made such a loss‑making deal, and now I somewhat regret it."

Lei En feels a tightening in his heart.

Long ago he foresaw that someday the Titan Elder would discover his development of the Titan Engine and press him for answers.

Before he can speak, Suolim smiles again, "Lei En, don't be nervous. A deal is a deal; there's no reason to regret later. The Titan Rune Technique can shine again in your hands, even reach a higher level, and I'm glad for that. At last, this world no longer has only me mastering the Titan Rune Technique, and it's not feared to be lost."

"Thank you, Elder, the Titan Rune Technique has helped me immensely," Lei En sighs in relief.

"But…"

Suolim finally states his request earnestly, "I'm very interested in your improved Titan Furnace, want to know how you shrank it, and hope you can teach me."

Lei En's face instantly shows discomfort.

The Titan Elder assumes he wants to haggle, waves his hand, "I won't take your knowledge for free. According to our trade rules, the technique to shrink the Titan Furnace is priced at 20,000 source crystals. With this technique, you can exchange items worth 20,000 source crystals here; anything on the exchange list is tradable."

"Elder, this isn't about source crystals," Lei En says with a wry smile.

"Hm?"

Suolim furrows his brow. He thinks he's being sincere, yet Lei En still refuses, which he finds puzzling. It's worth noting that the Legend Grade staff "Endless Storm" Lei En previously exchanged was worth only 15,000 source crystals.

A trace of the demigod's terrifying aura emanates, causing the entire hall to tremble slightly.

The Willpower of Truth lets Lei En remain unaffected by the demigod's might, and he explains candidly, "Elder, I didn't intend to hide anything. The technique to shrink the Titan Furnace, I can't teach you either; its core comes from one of my innate abilities."

He roughly outlines the principle of the Titan Engine.

Suolim, with many years of experience crafting Titan Furnaces, understands immediately. The method Lei En used, based on his past‑life design, makes his eyes light up, greatly expanding his insight.

"What a genius idea!"

However, after the amazement, Suolim also grasps the technical difficulty of the Titan Engine.

"You, a human, possess such a powerful innate talent, surpassing legendary Elements; I've never heard of anything like it," Suolim says, surprised, looking at Lei En as if admiring a rare treasure, eyes filled with disbelief.

Lei En replies evenly, "I call it 'Mechanical Mind.'"

He only mentioned the multi‑core chip function of a phone, not the core mind, yet that was enough for Suolim to believe.

The Titan Elder is strong, but cannot fuse a magic soul.

With a teacher backing him, Lei En isn't afraid the other side will kill him, loot his soul for research. Moreover, there's no guarantee they'd achieve any result.

"Mechanical Mind, Mechanical Mind…"

After pondering for a while, Suolim says, "I don't need your Electric Light Cannon anymore; give me a copy of the Titan Engine schematics, that would greatly inspire me. Perhaps I can find another way to replace the function of Mechanical Mind."

"Fine," Lei En replies without hesitation.

A moment later, he hands over a freshly written schematic; Suolim takes it, nods, and says, "Knowledge is priceless. This schematic is worth 10,000 source crystals, or I can grant you another chance to strike; you may choose. Which do you want?"

Lei En thinks briefly and replies, "The one chance to strike."

"Alright," Suolim nods, turns, and leaves.

After sending off the Titan Elder, Lei En teleports back to Gral Morgan Castle and opens his phone interface.

(End of Chapter)