However, Lin Li was not exactly wandering aimlessly, either. He went to the specialty shops that sold items from the Endless Sea. Of course, there were too many special items in the Gilded Kingdom, ranging from small saltwater fish to herbs and gems from the deep sea. Not all of them were of value to Lin Li.
Although it was just a simple tour, Lin Li had to admit that it really felt like an eye-opener. He was shocked to discover that the Sea Crystal that was considered extremely rare in Anril was a very common gem here, and cost the same as the common ones in Anril.
Those deep-sea herbs were also very attractive to Lin Li, a pharmaceutics Guru. For example, the Dark Soulgrass, which was very difficult to obtain in the mainland of Anril, was a herb that only grew in the crevices that were thousands of meters deep. Yet, it was sold like cabbage in this city.
It was just that the Dark Soulgrass here contained a lot of water elements that had to be extracted If Lin Li were to use it to make potions. In fact, this was not a characteristic unique to Dark Soulgrass. Many kinds of herbs sold here were rich in water elements—even those that grew on remote islands.
In addition to herbs and gems, there were also many other precious marine products, such as strange-looking monsters that were unrecognizable to Lin Li. There was a horned turtle that was as huge as a house displayed in the market sold as ordinary livestock. The butchers would cut the turtle flesh according to the orders of their customers and pack it neatly for them. It was said that the largest of its kind was as huge as a small island. Some of them were also domesticated to act as a foundation for people to build their castles on.
Lin Li walked around various markets in Hopra City, and purchased some fancy items. However, he wasn’t making large-scale purchases. It was more to satisfy his curiosity, or for purposes he knew would be beneficial to him. This was also because he still remembered from Elder Zumar’s invitation letter that there would be a once-in-a-decade sea market sale closer to the celebration date.
Although Lin Li still did not know what the sea market of the Gilded Kingdom would look like, the sight of the lively markets here instilled in him great expectations for the upcoming sea market.
It was said that the sea market would not only attract merchants of the Gilded Kingdom, but also caravans from the mainland of Anril and people living in the depths of the Endless Ocean. Yet, they were not the main highlights of the event. It was said that there would be a visit from the merchant from the mysterious continent on the other end of the Endless Ocean. He would be here to sell various specialty goods that were produced on that continent.
The sky gradually grew darker as Lin Li strolled through several markets. That was when he decided to return to the residence arranged by the Gilded Kingdom. However, when he returned, he discovered that the afternoon had brought over some new guests, and he identified a number of acquaintances among them.
“Haha, Master Felic, I heard about your arrival a long time ago, and I have been wanting to pay you a visit, but in vain. Looks like you have gone out on your own.” The voice belonged to the owner of the Time Consignment Store, William. Although William was a man of high status in the Breezy Plains, he did not arrive by The Star, but a fleet of ships instead. It was obvious that he was prepared to visit the sea market and return with rare purchases.
“Hey, Master Felic, it has been long!” This was Prince Lionheart Johnathan, a famous royal of the Felan Kingdom. He had been chatting with William, and when he saw Lin Li, he immediately walked over to greet him enthusiastically.
Although Jonathan didn’t have much contact with Lin Li, he probably met him at one of the meetings held by the Pharmacists’ Union. He was also present during Lin Li’s inauguration ceremony as a representative of the Felan Kingdom. However, at that time, Jonathan had not thought that this young magician would have had such an achievement. Not only did Lin Li lead the Tower of Dusk to become the most powerful force in the Breezy Plains, he also successfully stepped into the Sanctuary realm to become the youngest Sanctuary powerhouse in history.
Therefore, when greeting Lin Li, Johnathan could not help but still feel a little worried even though he was a royal of the Felan Kingdom. After all, his status as a prince was nothing to a Sanctuary powerhouse.
However, Lin Li didn’t put up an arrogant stance despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse. He responded to Johnathan smilingly, and greeted the others behind him.
“Felic, long time no see! I heard that you have acquired Immortal King’s Sky Castle, and I would love to pay you a visit over there,” a voice addressed Lin Li directly by his name. Few dared to call his name after Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary realm. The owner of the voice, High Priest Sendros from the Darkness Shrine, walked towards Lin Li.
“Master Sendros, you…” said Lin Li before Sendros came up close to him. He could feel the unique aura of a Sanctuary realm powerhouse from Sendros. He knew very clearly that Sendros’s level up was not a fluke—unlike with Elvis and the rest. Sendros was a real middle-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse.
“All thanks to your Tribute of Darkness. Otherwise, I could have only been half of a Sanctuary powerhouse,” replied Sendros. Now that his body had darkened due to the Tribute of Darkness, his original stiff expression had transformed into one that seemed gentler.
“Felic, you are really biased! How could you help this dead-face formulate the Tribute of Darkness? There, there. Look at how arrogant he has become!” That was Englos, the archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, who had arrived with Sendros.
While he had small talk with everyone, Lin Li could not help but be distracted by his thoughts. He felt that it was not a big deal for the people of Felan to be here. What mattered was the status of those powerhouses from the Darkness Shrine and Brilliance Shrine: one was a high priest in the Sanctuary-realm, while the other was an archbishop who was a step away from the Sanctuary-realm.
In any case, the Gilded Kingdom was a secular kingdom, and the two shrines were the real forces of influence. Lin Li did not believe that the two men of such status would want to attend the Gilded Kingdom’s Independence Day.
However, Lin Li did not ask them about their intentions. After all, no matter how good they were on private terms, they had the interests of different forces to consider. Therefore, he suppressed his curiosity, and continued chatting with a few people. He also invited Englos and Sendros to his Sky Castle after this event.
While Lin Li had a very happy chat with his old friends, someone was not feeling the same on the other side. Delano had just returned to the naval harbor on Sea Dragon to hear that Forcus had reached the headquarters of the fleet, and wanted him to head back immediately.
Upon hearing this news, Delano could already guess what Forcus was about to do, but now that Sea Dragon had already entered the port, he knew it was too late to hide. He could only bite the bullet and go meet Forcus.
“Master Forcus, I heard that you were in a hurry to meet me,” said Delano sincerely with as much innocence as he could muster. While he was unafraid of Forcus, he knew Forcus’ mentor, Elder Zumar, was not someone to offend. If he were to get into his bad books, Delano knew that even his father would not be able to protect him.
“Delano, your fleet has returned quite some time ago. What was taking you such a long time?” asked Forcus in a harsh tone.
“I-I was just patrolling around,” Delano replied casually. How could he reveal his intentions of seeking revenge on that group of people who came from the Breezy Plains?
However, Forcus was not a foolish man. “I don’t care where you have gone. Now I just need you to give me an explanation. Who gave you the permission to harass the guests from the Breezy Plains!? They are the guests of His Majesty and the Illuminati!” reprimanded Forcus sternly as he sized Delano up with a grave expression.
“Master Forcus, you can’t say that. As the commander of the Fifth Fleet, I am responsible to maintain the peace and stability in our kingdom’s waters. They had a conflict in our waters, so there was nothing wrong for me to intervene. It was them! Not only were they indifferent to our mediation, they also used force to resist our management! This behavior has infringed the rules of our territory,” protested Delano as he shifted the blame to the others. He even labeled the guests as intruders.
If it had been an average person, he would have been fooled by Delano’s righteous facade. Forcus was so clear about Delano’s character that he didn’t believe his rhetoric at all. However, Forcus was not concerned about whom the responsibility belonged to. Since things had happened, the most important thing was to prevent Delano from causing any more trouble.
As a result, Forcus did not bother to find fault with Delano’s words. Instead, he warned him directly.
“Delano, no matter what happened previously, I want you to remember that those from the Breezy Plains, especially people like President Felic, are in extremely good books of both the royal family and the Illuminati. You’d better not create any trouble for me, otherwise don’t blame me for not warning you.”
“Master Forcus, if that is what you are saying, do you mean that we have to close our eyes to whatever crimes they are going to commit in our territory? Just when did our Gilded Kingdom become such a pushover? And those people are merely from the Breezy Plains. Are we going to kneel before them if they are from the Ledin and Felan Kingdom?” replied Delano indignantly.
