Although High Priest Poer was very eager, he could not show it or make it too obvious. Hence, he sat at the side and chatted with Herza while waiting for the good show.
However, that made Herza and the others of the Supreme Council feel a little puzzled. High Priest Poer’s status in the Gilded Kingdom was almost the same as King Bradlor’s. Although Herza represented the Supreme Council, High Priest Poer was being too enthusiastic, and there was nothing for them to talk about at all.
He said that there was no need for the high priest to be ushering the guests to the welcoming ceremony and arranging for a resting place and so on, because these tasks were within the foreign affairs minister’s scope of duty. Others who were unaware might think that high priest Poer was trying to cozy up to Herza.
In fact, High Priest Poer was also very uncomfortable. He wasn’t that familiar with Herza in the first place, and their interests were in inscription and pharmaceutics, respectively. What was there for them to talk about? If High Priest Poer hadn’t tried to strike up a random conversation, there was nothing else he could do, either. It would be strange if he just sat still and waited.
They waited in the hall downstairs for almost 15 minutes before Lin Li finally came down from upstairs, smiling widely. He said in an apologetic tone, “Master Herza, I’m so sorry. Master Sendros has been holding me back to talk about some matters regarding pharmaceutics. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
On the other hand, Herza stood up with a smile, and said, “It’s rare to have such an opportunity. I’ve prepared quite a few questions that I have to ask you. Sendros might be cursing me now.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Li let Herza take a seat while he sat down beside him, acting as if he did not see High Priest Poer. He finally asked, “Master Herza, you came to see me without resting as soon as you reached the Gilded Kingdom. There must be something, right?”
“Of course,” Herza said with a nod.
Now we’re getting down to the main point! As soon as he heard that, High Priest Poer instantly perked up, and decided to forget about the fact that Lin Li had just ignored him. He straightened his back in his seat, waiting to see the good show, and also getting ready to accept Lin Li’s apology later on.
Herza was so focused on talking to Lin Li that he didn’t notice the change in High Priest Poer’s posture. After nodding, he said, “As a special envoy of the Supreme Council in the Gilded Kingdom, there’s no reason for me not to come over to report before anything else when I know that the fourth arbitrator has already arrived.”
“Oh.” After hearing his words, Lin Li knew that the three old men who were eager to get out of the situation had to have already announced the news. Otherwise, even if Herza had known about it, there was no way he would have said it in public.
To be frank, Lin Li really felt vexed at this point, even though he had long promised the three arbitrators that he would help them take care of the Supreme Council in the future as the fourth arbitrator. However, there was still a bunch of things for him to handle on his side as he had to transform the Sky Castle and even look for the Immortal King’s secrets. He also had to improve his strength in order to complete what Geresco had asked him to. How could he have the time to care about the messy affairs of the Supreme Council.
In fact, the three arbitrators had probably also considered that issue, and were afraid that if they announced the news of Lin Li becoming the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council any later, Lin Li might just create something similar to the Supreme Council. At that time, they would no longer be able to pin their hopes on Lin Li. After all, transforming an old system was far more difficult than establishing a brand-new one.
At this moment, the high priest who was seated at the side and waiting for Lin Li to bow down and apologize to him under the pressure of the Supreme Council instantly sulked. This damned rascal has actually become the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council! This is the most incredible news I have ever heard in my life!
Since Lin Li had already become the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, how could he still expect Lin Li to bow down and apologize to him under the pressure of the Supreme Council? Although High Priest Poer was not a member of the Supreme Council, he knew that the arbitrators were the highest leaders of the Supreme Council. Hence, he could forget about his plans.
“Haha, congratulations! Felic, I’ve long said that your talent and strength are far beyond the mere position of the president of a Guild of Magic. If you’re willing to join the Darkness Shrine, I can let you take over after me as the high priest. Unfortunately, you’re not interested,” said Sendros, who happened to come downstairs at this moment. When he heard that Lin Li had become the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, he could only sigh with some regret.
In fact, Sendros had been wanting to poach Lin Li and convince him to join the Darkness Shrine since a long time ago. Unfortunately, the Supreme Council had beat him to it, and first made Lin Li a member of the Supreme Council before promoting him to deputy chairman, and eventually an arbitrator.
Lin Li could only smile bitterly when he heard Sendros’ words. Although being the fourth arbitrator sounded nice, the three arbitrators had already made it clear that they were just like repairmen who had to fix the numerous flaws in the Supreme Council. It was not an easy job at all.
Lin Li did not respond to Herza, nor did he know how to respond. At this time, he happened to see High Priest Poer, who was seated behind them. Hence, he said, “High Priest Poer, I’m really sorry, but I didn’t notice you just now. Is there a reason you’re here?”
At this moment, High Priest Poer already felt like a clown, and was hoping that everyone wouldn’t notice him, but he didn’t expect Lin Li to actually shift the topic of the conversation and put the attention on him. He immediately looked a little awkward before forcing a smile, and saying, “President Felic, it’s such a coincidence, we meet again. I’m here to accompany Councilor Herza so that I can arrange a welcoming ceremony as well as a place to rest for the Supreme Council’s envoy after he is done with errands.”
“Oh, I see,” Lin Li said with a nod. He then turned around, and said to Herza, “Master Herza, let’s talk about other things later, don’t keep the host waiting for too long. I think you’d better attend the welcoming ceremony with High Priest Poer and have your accommodations settled before coming back to discuss this with me.”
“Um, okay.” Herza still didn’t know what was going on between Lin Li and High Priest Poer, so he didn’t think much about anything else. With an apologetic expression, he turned around and said, “High Priest Poer, sorry to have let you wait for a long time. Let’s go and finish going through the motions now.”
“Alright, please come with me,” High Priest Poer said. He was just thinking of leaving asap, and as soon as he heard Herza’s words, he nodded his head in agreement.
The news that Lin Li had become the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council could be considered rather sensational, and once the news were announced, many of the people who were at the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration would probably seem dismayed. However, due to Lin Li’s request, the few people who were aware of it did not spread the news. However, Sendros told Englos about it, causing the latter to pound his chest in chagrin because it was too late for him to take action. In the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li was regarded as the Darkness Incarnate, and he was likewise treated as the Son of The Holy Light by the Brilliance Shrine, which had thought of forging connections with Lin Li before.
As for High Priest Poer, he felt extremely embarrassed even though no one saw his intentions at that time. He naturally wouldn’t go round spreading the news. Besides, in his opinion, becoming the fourth arbitrator was definitely a matter worth rejoicing for Lin Li. Hence, he felt that there was no need for him to publicize for his enemy.
As such, Lin Li did not get disturbed after that matter. Otherwise, he would have been overwrought and overwhelmed if he had to receive visits from all factions. However, visiting the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li had nothing special to do, and thus thought about the world in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle. A long time had passed, and he wondered if The Star in that world had lost track of the Immortal King.
Anyway, there was nothing more for him to do here anymore. He believed that no one from the Gilded Kingdom would dare to touch The Star anymore after suffering such a huge loss. Hence, after informing Sendros and Englos who often came to discuss pharmaceutics, he broke through the space, and returned to the Sky Castle that was far away in the Breezy Plains.
After returning to the Sky Castle, Lin Li first checked the progress of the Sky Castle’s transformation, and then charged into the inverted tower. He passed through the gate of the Meditation Land, and once again arrived in the world of that Dark Age that Geresco had created.
When Lin Li appeared, he was still in the pilothouse of The Star, and he could see all the records of The Star‘s voyage during his absence through the crystal ball there. Seeing the blurry figure of the Immortal King in the recorded scene from a few days ago, Lin Li was relieved that The Star had not lost track of the Immortal King, and the mystery would eventually be revealed. Otherwise, Lin Li would have had no idea how to search for clues in the vast ocean.
He continued to sail on The Star for two days, and just when Lin Li thought he was going to continue feeling bored, he suddenly felt a very terrifying magical wave which contained a peculiar death aura in front of him. It was as if there was a hint of life in it, and it was precisely the magical wave that was unique to the Immortal King.
After sensing the abnormal situation, Lin Li immediately drove The Star forward at full speed, thus maximizing the scope of the crystal ball. Finally, the picture of a small island was quickly enlarged. The figure floating above the island was none other than the Immortal King.
It was a barren island which actually had a large area, but it was covered with short greenery. Actually, there were tens of millions of such islands in the Endless Ocean, and there was nothing strange about it at all. However, the Immortal King stopped in the sky above the island, and terrifying mana fluctuations that emanated from it left Lin Li feeling curious.
While Lin Li was making guesses, the Immortal King hovering above the island finally made a move. The Immortal King reached out and pointed at the island, only to see the massive mana surging into the middle of the island. Immediately afterwards, a tower about 10 meters tall quickly condensed in the center of the island.
Upon sight of this scene, Lin Li, who was standing in front of the crystal ball, was really astonished. Although he knew that the strength of the Immortal King was probably very close to that of a true deity, this means of creating things out of thin air still left Lin Li in shock. Although Sanctuary powerhouses could create their own Domain World and even life, it was a completely different concept from creating things in Anril.
It was just like how one was free to imagine whatever, but they would have to be subjected to the rules of reality once they returned to reality. Everything created in one’s Domain World was akin to one’s imagination, while creating things in the real world was really a method of creation of something out of nothing.
After the astonishment, Lin Li also made another discovery: the tower created out of thin air by the Immortal King was actually very similar in shape to the tower on the lone island that he found sailing in the outside world. The only difference was that there was a Void Spirit Mageweath engraved on the tower outside.
However, seeing that the Immortal King hadn’t left after creating the tower, Lin Li had a hunch that the Immortal King would do something again.
Indeed, just a few moments later, the Immortal King once again made a move, and hurriedly created a few magic seals. The mana condensed under his manipulation entangled the high tower that appeared out of nowhere. Each portion of mana would leave a complex mageweath or runes on the tower after it touched the latter.
In a short while, the appearance of the tower had completely changed, and it looked extremely mysterious under the wrapping of the mageweath and the runes. After looking at it, Lin Li finally saw that the runes on the exterior of the tower were made up of the Divine Smith Void Spirit Mageweath that he couldn’t understand.
Lin Li had been puzzled at first, and wondered what kind of person would create such a tower with Divine Smith mageweaths on the lone island on the Endless Ocean. Now, he finally understood that it was all done by the Immortal King, who was probably the only one in Anril who had such an ability.
However, that left Lin Li with some doubts. What was the Immortal King trying to do by building such a tower and adding Divine Smith Void Spirit Mageweaths to it?
Before Lin Li could dwell on that issue any further, the Immortal King, who had already completed the Void Spirit Mageweath, darted out in another direction again like a bolt of lightning.