However, time was a huge problem for Lin Li too. Even though he had a way to distort the laws of time, he couldn’t use that solution often. When he was in the underground world, he was also forced by High Priest Poer who left him with no choice but to distort the laws of time to buy time for himself.
Within less than a second, Lin Li paid a huge price, and that was if his strength could no longer improve, his life expectancy would become hundreds of years shorter than the other Sanctuary powerhouses’ due to the distortion of the laws of time. Although it was said that Sanctuary powerhouses had infinite lifespan, it was actually just an exaggeration because no one could live forever. Even gods and deities would fall, let alone the Sanctuary powerhouses who had yet to break free from the restraint of World Laws.
Besides, if he kept using that method to distort the laws of time, the price to pay in the long run would be far beyond just having his lifespan shortened. His soul and mental strength might be damaged, and in serious cases, he might lose all hopes of achieving godhood. Hence, even with the ability to distort the laws of time, Lin Li did not dare to use it indiscriminately. He had no choice but to study the mageweath properly.
Actually, there was a mageweath array in the Tower of Dusk that could form the Time Domain, which many of the mages of the Tower of Dusk had entered before. In there, they also mastered some magic spells and techniques. However, that Time Domain was effective only for mages below the Legendary-level. For Sanctuary powerhouses like Lin Li, it wasn’t very useful.
The Time Domain that Lin Li used was mainly meant for nurturing herbs and magical beasts or catalyzing the potency of potions, etc. If the Time Domain had been useful for him too, he would have become an old man by now because he often stayed there to prepare potions.
If there was a mageweath array that could generate a Time Domain that could distort the laws of time like Lin Li had before, it could be considered to be at the Divine-Smith-level. At least, with Lin Li’s current attainments in inscriptions, he still couldn’t set up such a mageweath array. Perhaps when Lin Li comprehended 30% to 50% of the Divine-Smith-level mageweaths on the monument, he might be able to set up such a powerful Time Domain. However, he was now far from being able to do that.
However, even if Lin Li could not get a clear understanding of the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he didn’t gain anything during the process of studying it at all. Lin Li realized that studying it was akin to sitting for an inscription exam as it required a large amount of knowledge in inscription, and it was almost like a summary of the knowledge he had acquired.
Be it in terms of pharmaceutics or inscription and skills of other progressions, Lin Li did not obtain his knowledge bit by bit. Instead, he had it instilled in his head after using the Scroll of Wishes in the game before transmigrating to this world.
He had great theoretical knowledge, but when it came to practical application, he was inevitably a little inflexible. That problem hadn’t surfaced before, but it wasn’t because he didn’t have such a problem, but because the standards of professions in this world were too low. A Master-level professional would be akin to standing at the top of the world, so what problems could Lin Li, a Guru-level figure, possibly have to rack his brains to solve?
As Lin Li had encountered a Divine-Smith-level mageweath, the issue of his lack of ability to apply his knowledge well was exposed. Studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was akin to giving a chance to truly transform the inscription knowledge that had been forcefully instilled in his mind into his own knowledge.
Hence, although Lin Li was unable to study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath thoroughly, he was making progress in his inscription studies almost at every moment. After he had truly integrated all the knowledge, it would probably be a matter of time before he could crack the Divine-Smith-level mageweath.
That was the reason that Lin Li soon became completely immersed in studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. At this moment, he had completely forgotten about everything else as nothing was as attractive to him as the mageweath.
While Lin Li was immersed in the world of inscription knowledge, King Bradlor and the ministers in the royal palace of the Gilded Kingdom also met Cantory, Burgess’ son.
Although the ministers who were now present in the royal palace’s Council Hall were all important to the kingdom, and were also Cantory’s elders, they were all respectful towards Cantory. None of them dared to look at him with contempt or treat him as a junior.
Cantory was the disciple of the Illuminati’s lord, and there was a high possibility that he would succeed this position. Hence, Cantory’s current status was probably on par with that of his father, Chancellor Burgess. Moreover, if Cantory really became a saint of the Illuminati in the future, even King Bradlor would have to bow respectfully while greeting him.
However, even with such a status, Cantory didn’t seem too arrogant. He strode towards King Bradlor, and bowed respectfully to him as a junior.
Seeing Cantory’s performance, Bradlor nodded slightly with some satisfaction. Cantory had obtained such a high status at such a young age. If anyone else were in his place, they would probably be extremely arrogant and conceited. For example, High Priest Poer’s son Delano, who was about the same age as Cantory. Yet, there was such a huge difference between them.
Bradlor raised his hand to gesture for Cantory to spare the formalities and take a seat beside his father, Burgess. He then asked in a gentle tone, “Cantory, you should know why I asked you to come here. In this case, I’d like to hear your opinion on this matter.”
There shouldn’t be a feud between Cantory and Lin Li, but there was definitely some hatred. Back in the Breezy Plains, Cantory had suffered huge losses because of Lin, especially when they went to the Tower of Dusk to ask Lin Li for help because of the incident on Cage Island. For Cantory, that experience could be considered the most humiliating one in his life.
Hence, deep down, Cantory felt a strong urge to start a war with the Tower of Dusk, and then use the power of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati to destroy the Tower of Dusk and Lin Li to vent his anger. However, when he heard Bradlor asking him for his opinion, he did not directly say that he wanted to go to war with the Tower of Dusk, because that would seem too crude and direct.
Cantory did not answer immediately, and instead lowered his head and thought for a while, as if he was carefully considering the trade-offs. Bradlor, who was seated high on the throne, naturally admired him for doing so. Cantory was young and talented, but not overly impatient. He was probably the best candidate for a successor in Bradlor’s opinion. Unfortunately, he was not his son.
After pondering for a moment, Cantory raised his head, and said to Bradlor, “Your Majesty, I have indeed also understood the details of this matter. When I was on the mission to the Breezy Plains, I experienced the brutal and overbearing nature of President Felic, but I didn’t hold it against him at that time for the sake of the greater good. However, this matter concerns the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom. If we don’t express our stand, the Gilded Kingdom might really become a laughingstock.”
What Cantory said was precisely the reason that others wanted to persuade King Bradlor to go to war. Hence, those who were in support of war were smiling, while the ministers who supported peace had sullen expressions. On the other hand, Bradlor frowned slightly, and said to Cantory, “Does this mean that you also agree to go to war with the Tower of Dusk and Breezy Plains?”
However, after hearing Bradlor’s words, Cantory shook his head slightly, and said, “Your Majesty, once the war starts, it will be tantamount to us being tied to a carriage with a horse that has lost its mind. We won’t stop until the very end. There might be a straight road ahead or a cliff, but no matter what, we must go on. So, going to war can only be used as a last resort. Besides, not everything can be solved by going to war.”
As soon as they heard Cantory’s words, Burgess and others who were in support of the war suddenly had a change of expression. No matter how they deciphered it, it didn’t seem that Cantory supported the idea of going to war with the Breezy Plains. Those who supported peace also nodded one after another, as if Cantory said what was on their minds.
However, Bradlor was really confused as to whether Cantory wanted to go to war or not. Hence, after being stunned for a while, he slowly asked, “So, Cantory, what do you think about this matter?”
Smugness flashed in Cantory’s eyes. In an earnest tone and with a humble expression, he soon said, “Your Majesty, I think we should give President Felic a chance to redeem himself before deciding whether to go to war with the Tower of Dusk. If President Felic is willing to publicly apologize to our kingdom for this matter, and hand over the people who attacked Prince Vincent, as well as the people who made a scene at the barracks of the royal guards, we can get along with him peacefully.”
Hearing the idea that Cantory had come up with, Bradlor couldn’t help but have his eyes light up. Previously, he had been confused because of the two sides that supported different things, and Cantory’s suggestion was a good way to save some pride for the kingdom while also avoiding a war. However, Bradlor asked one more question. “What if President Felic refuses to apologize or hand over those people?”
“If that happens, there’s nothing we can do, because we’re already being as kind as we can. I believe Teacher will not tolerate someone insulting the kingdom.” Cantory spoke with confidence, as if he was certain that he would be able to convince the Illuminati.
After Cantory said those words, those who were in support of starting a war were immediately speechless. The Gilded Kingdom had suffered a huge loss, and they felt that making the president of the Tower of Dusk apologize was not a big deal. It would be overboard if he didn’t apologize at all.
Although Minister Carron felt that there was something amiss with the situation, there was nothing he could say. After all, as the chancellor of the kingdom, Carron couldn’t put the dignity of the kingdom at risk even if he insisted on his own political views.
The camp that was in support of the war, which was led by Burgess, was full of bewilderment, and it was as if he couldn’t understand how Cantory could come up with such an idea. From Cantory’s point of view, it seemed to be a way to prevent a war from breaking out as they could avoid war as long as the Tower of Dusk apologized. If they didn’t go to war in the Breezy Plains, it wouldn’t be a good thing for the camp that was in support of the war.
Not to mention the military generals, even Cantory’s father, Burgess, seemed to be puzzled about his son’s decision. He was aware that Cantory was definitely in support of a war, but the latter gave such a suggestion just as Bradlor was about to be convinced.
However, at this point, it seemed to be too late to say anything as Bradlor agreed very much with Cantory’s idea. Hence, he immediately called the Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson to come over. However, it was already very late; hence, he asked Jefferson to go to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk early tomorrow morning, and bring the troublesome President Felic over.
The Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson was in support of peace. Hence, after hearing the king’s order, he knew that the king was not going to start a war immediately, which made him feel a sense of relief. He even found Cantory to be extraordinarily lovely today. In order to avoid having those who were in support of war say anything, he left the conference hall immediately after receiving the orders.
After Jefferson’s departure, the people in the council hall didn’t have much to discuss, as they were all just waiting for tomorrow to arrive so that they could see how the Tower of Dusk would arrive. Bradlor asked the ministers to return to get some rest. Of course, while resting, they also had to deal with compensation. After all, the royal guards’ barracks had been demolished, and it couldn’t be resolved with just an apology. They had to ask for compensation.
The ministers of the two camps immediately split into two distinct sides as soon as they left the council hall. They were each discussing something. At this point, Burgess couldn’t tolerate it any longer as he looked at Cantory in displeasure, and said, “How could you come up with such an idea? This matter was initially a great opportunity for us to persuade His Majesty, but it’s now gone because of what you said.”
Although the ministers around Burgess couldn’t confront Cantory, they looked rather angered too. In their opinion, what Cantory did was akin to betrayal as he had made them lose the military credit that they were about to get.
