Chapter 50: Exchange of Sorcerers

As the early morning of the following day arrived, the flying vessel finally descended within the Longshan Pavilion of the city.

“I will return to the main campus of the Gale Academy today,” Yu Jingqiu suddenly said, while mounting the back of a crimson-feathered mount. “During the explosion, I used some cold-based spells and felt a certain resonance. I plan to return to the main campus to study it further, and I may not come back to Qinghe Prefecture for a long time.”

“I have never been to the main campus of the Gale Academy. I should definitely visit it sometime,” Dongbo Xueying replied casually.

“Mm.”

Yu Jingqiu said no more, and her crimson-feathered mount immediately took flight. Clad in a green robe, her hair fluttering in the wind, she quickly vanished into the distance.

High in the sky, she glanced back at the now-distant Longshan Pavilion before turning her gaze southward.

…

Dongbo Xueying rode his Snow-Treader steed out of the Longshan Pavilion and entered a shop that sold magical artifacts for wizards. The shop was quiet, with only a few customers inside. After all, wizards were rare, and those who came to purchase magical items were even fewer.

“Neigh neigh neigh~~~” Dongbo Xueying dismounted and handed his steed over to a servant.

“Esteemed sir,” a female attendant immediately approached to greet him.

“Introduce to me all the Celestial-tier wizard artifacts of the cold element that you have in stock,” Dongbo Xueying said casually. The attendant’s gaze turned slightly strange—introduce everything? This customer was quite bold. Was he truly capable, or was he just trying to cause trouble? Nonetheless, the young woman led Dongbo Xueying through the shop, describing each item briefly.

“Winter’s Bangle, top-tier Celestial-grade! It contains an improved miniature Frost Domain model. Its power is formidable—about thirty percent of the Frost Domain conjured by a Meteor-tier wizard!” the attendant explained fluently. “With this, even an ordinary wizard can instantly cast a ‘Miniature Frost Domain.'”

“Go on.” Dongbo Xueying instantly decided to take this one as well.

“This bangle is a mid-tier Celestial artifact. It contains a magical array, and once activated with mana, its power rivals the Torrent of Arrows spell cast by a Celestial-tier wizard.”

Dongbo Xueying listened carefully, selecting as he went.

The spell models within wizard artifacts were fixed and stable; wizards only needed to channel mana into them to activate their effects. This made them the most convenient to use. However, the power of the spells they produced could not be enhanced. A powerful wizard still needed to conduct personal research and cultivate to understand and construct more potent spell models.

In fact, even a Silver Moon-tier wizard, no matter how powerful the artifact in hand, would be unable to cast spells under the dominion of a Named-tier opponent’s command over the elements.

Therefore, personal strength was the foundation!

Of course…

The chance of encountering a Named-tier opponent was extremely low. His younger brother was currently just an ordinary wizard, capable of activating only Celestial-tier artifacts. He couldn’t even use Meteor-tier artifacts at all.

“Hmm, not bad,” Dongbo Xueying examined the items carefully. “This one, this one, this one, and that one over there, and that one too. I’ll take them all.”

The female attendant’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

Dongbo Xueying had selected only top-tier Celestial artifacts! What defined a top-tier Celestial artifact? Typically, their power reached about thirty to forty percent of a Meteor-tier spell, or were uniquely crafted.

“Calculate the total cost in gold coins,” Dongbo Xueying instructed.

“Oh, and give me that staff and that robe as well,” Dongbo Xueying added, selecting a staff and robe for Youyue. The staff was relatively inexpensive, costing only two thousand gold coins. After all, a staff mainly assisted a wizard in casting spells, and a weaker wizard wouldn’t benefit much even if given the finest staff.

The robe, however, was a Celestial-tier artifact and far more expensive—eighteen thousand gold coins.

Dongbo Xueying felt that, considering his relationship with Youyue, this was an appropriate gift—not quite as extravagant as what he would give his younger brother.

“Esteemed sir,” the shop owner himself was now drawn in. “These five top-tier Celestial artifacts are quite expensive. I’ll round down the total—twenty thousand gold coins for all five. As for the robe and staff, that’s another two thousand gold coins. Ha ha, all in all, I’ll make it twenty thousand gold coins. I hope you’ll visit us again in the future. The price I gave you may not be the absolute lowest in Qinghe Prefecture, but it’s very close.”

In the entire prefecture, few could afford to spend twenty thousand gold coins at once! Even someone like Gai Bin of the Cutlass Alliance, who had been plundering for years, had only amassed a fraction of that.

It would take a fortune of over a hundred thousand gold coins for someone to casually spend twenty thousand in one go. This was a customer worth cherishing.

“Mm,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

“May I ask your name, Esteemed Sir?” the shop owner asked softly.

“Dongbo. Just call me Dongbo,” Dongbo Xueying replied.

“Esteemed Dongbo, our ‘Crimson Moon Pavilion’ has many branches throughout the Anyang Province. This is a token. From now on, even for the cheapest items, you will receive a ten percent discount.” The shop owner immediately presented a deep purple-gold token, clearly crafted by wizards. In truth, even with the discount, the total of Dongbo Xueying’s purchases barely exceeded twenty thousand gold coins.

The shop owner resolved to investigate thoroughly later—who was this powerful figure that had appeared in Qinghe Prefecture, capable of spending twenty thousand gold coins in one go?

…

Later, Dongbo Xueying also purchased some alchemical tools. His current robes and inner armor were truly subpar, worse than those of many Silver Moon knights. Moreover, he needed to obtain fine treasures for Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong. After completing his purchases, Dongbo Xueying immediately rode his Snow-Treader steed and departed, heading nonstop toward Yishui City.

After two days of continuous travel, he arrived at Xueying Domain by evening on the second day.

“Finally home,” Dongbo Xueying thought joyfully, gazing at the towering Xueshi Mountains in the distance and the castle atop its peak. This was truly his home.

Clippity-clop…

The hooves thundered, and soon he reached the castle gates.

“Lord has returned!”

“Lord has returned! Hurry and inform Master Qing Shi!”

The entire castle quickly became lively and bustling. The drawbridge was lowered, and the gates slowly opened.

Zong Ling and the lion-man Tong San both came to the entrance with beaming smiles.

“Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong,” Dongbo Xueying dismounted and greeted them with a smile.

“You must be tired from your long journey. Qing Shi is still with his master. The servants have already gone to inform them. You Shi and Youyue should be back soon,” Zong Ling said with a smile.

Dongbo Xueying nodded happily—he had prepared gifts for them.

“Oh, there’s something I should tell you,” Zong Ling added. “A prodigious wizard from the Si Clan, ‘Si Chen,’ has arrived here.”

“The Si Clan?” Dongbo Xueying furrowed his brow. Could it be related to Si Borong’s death? But logically, the Si Clan shouldn’t know the names of the five people who accepted the mission. The Longshan Pavilion would never dare to leak that information, and Yu Jingqiu wouldn’t have told anyone either. Besides, she had already left for the Gale Academy long ago.

“Two days ago, this wizard named Si Chen came here. He specifically came to visit Master Bai Yuanzhi. Both are Meteor-tier wizards, and apparently, they needed to exchange insights on a certain research topic,” Zong Ling explained. “You know the status of the Si Clan in Qinghe Prefecture, Xueying. I couldn’t afford to be careless. Fortunately, Si Chen has been staying in the Wizard’s Tower. But now that you’re back, you should meet him.”

“Mm,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

How coincidental.

In the mission, he had just encountered Si Borong from the Si Clan, and now another wizard named Si Chen had arrived. However, since he had come two days ago, it probably had nothing to do with Si Borong’s incident.

“It seems I have quite a connection with the Si Clan,” Dongbo Xueying mused inwardly.

“Uncle Zong, send someone to extend an invitation. Tomorrow, I shall host this young master from the Si Clan for a banquet,” Dongbo Xueying said.