Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Although Lin Li had never been willing to lose out, he was not a petty person. Regardless of what intentions or reasons Edmund might have for his actions, Edmund had indeed solved a problem for Lin Li. Hence, he didn’t hold it against Edmund. He waved his hand to gesture for his subordinates to take the seahorse slaves away. He then walked towards Edmund with a smile, and said, “Saint Edmund, I can’t thank you enough for bringing these people back for me. How can I possibly blame you? Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus Clan is here in the embassy. Saint Edmund, would you like to come inside and take a seat too?”
Although Edmund knew that the Octopus Clan had to have developed an interest in befriending Lin Li since they bought his Mount Tai mageweath during the auction previously, he still couldn’t help but be surprised to hear that Great Monarch Hegel had come to pay Lin Li a visit in person.
However, Edmund knew that Hegel’s visit had to be out of something more than just courtesy. Hence, he didn’t want to go in to disturb him, and thus smiled before self-deprecatingly saying, “Oh, you guys must be discussing inscriptions. I’m just a layman who knows nothing about inscriptions, I shan’t go in and make a fool of myself.”
Of course, Edmund was not entirely clueless about inscriptions. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had been living for thousands of years.. Even a fool would have learned quite a bit about inscription if they were in Edmund’s shoes.
However, Edmund’s knowledge of inscription was far inferior to that of the Octopus Clan, who were born with a talent in inscription, and even more so compared to Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription who was nearing the Divine-Smith-level. When compared to the people of the Octopus Clan or Lin Li, Edmund really wasn’t being modest by calling himself a layman.
Edmund wasn’t really keen on inscription, either. Hence, after learning that Lin Li, Hegel, and the others would definitely be discussing inscriptions, he decided not to join them, and thus bade farewell to Lin Li.
After seeing Edmund off, Lin Li did not immediately return inside to continue conversing with the people of the Octopus Clan, and instead went to look at the seahorse slaves who had been settled there. He knew that Grina definitely wasn’t just trying to stand up for himself and vent his anger by snatching those seahorse slaves, but rather was certain that Grina had to have other reasons for doing so.
However, Lin Li didn’t care about those issues. Hence, after taking a look at the seahorse slaves, he said to them, “I know that you hold some secrets that Grina wants to know, but I’m not interested in those secrets. All you have to do now is focus on becoming stronger. I don’t need a bunch of slaves to carry out hard labor, but I want you to become the Seahorse Knights that have once dominated the Endless Ocean. Show me a satisfactory standard of competency, and I’ll grant you freedom. Your secrets will remain yours to hold.”
Lin Li was not trying to get into their goods books or win their favor. After all, races that had suffered a tragic fate like the Seahorse Clan definitely couldn’t be won over just with some sugarcoated words or flattery.
Lin Li merely hoped that they could temporarily put aside those damned secrets, and focus entirely on improving their individual strength for the time being. Otherwise, even if Lin Li provided them with the best resources and environment for growth, they would only end up wasting everything if they couldn’t focus on training.
After giving those instructions, Lin Li left the room without even waiting for the Seahorse Clan members to pledge their allegiance and express their loyalty to him. Well, the guests from the Octopus Clan were still in the guest hall, and he couldn’t make them wait for too long.
Upon returning to the guest hall, Lin Li spoke to Hegel and the others for a few more minutes before finally getting to the main topic of their conversation. Great Monarch Hegel first invited Lin Li to visit the Octopus Clan where they could have enough time to exchange knowledge about inscriptions.
When it came to the exchange of inscription knowledge, Hegel couldn’t help but seem a little embarrassed because Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription who was nearing the Divine-Smith-level. Instead of an exchange of knowledge, it seemed more appropriate to call it an inscription lesson from Lin Li to the Octopus Clan. Although the Octopus Clan was talented in inscription, Grand Elder Hayes was the only one in the clan who had barely achieved a Guru-level attainment in inscription. In the entire Octopus Clan, Gurus of Inscription were rare and few in number. Thus, there was nothing much for them to offer to Lin Li, and by calling it an exchange of knowledge, they would seem to be holding themselves highly.
However, Lin Li wasn’t bothered about that. In fact, he indeed needed the Octopus Clan’s help in some matters. He was planning to recruit a batch of inscribers from the Octopus Clan to work for him for free, as he had done with Wilkinson and the other pharmacists previously.
Lin Li was indeed a Guru of Inscription who had already touched the Divine-Smith-level, but he ultimately couldn’t make clones of himself, and thus was unable to juggle so many things and handle everything simultaneously on his own. In particular, the drawing of mageweath arrays would require several complicated and fundamental processes which he was completely uninterested in. He couldn’t possibly waste his time on carrying out the basic processes, either.
Therefore, after accepting Hegel’s invitation, Lin Li naturally raised his request too. “I’ve long heard that Octopus Clan is inherently talented in inscription, and I know that almost everyone in the Octopus Clan has considerable attainments in inscription. It just so happens that I still need some inscribers for the Tower of Dusk, so Great Monarch Hegel, may I know if you can help me assemble some of them?”
If it had been someone else who asked for a batch of inscribers, Hegel would have turned them down immediately without any consideration. He might’ve even fallen out with them. After all, inscribers had high status in Anril, and any force that had an inscriber would definitely put their inscriber on a pedestal and serve them with due respect.
Although the Octopus Clan members were born with a high talent in inscription, there were very few who really qualified to be called inscribers, and the absolute majority of the Octopus Clan were only good at drawing some mageweaths for attacking and defense, while some specialized only in the drawing of magic scrolls.
Those who were truly qualified to be called inscribers would have to have done adequate research on inscription, and could skillfully draw the majority of mageweaths that were below the level of their strength. Hence, even for the Octopus Clan, inscribers were extremely precious.
However, the person who asked for the inscribers was Lin Li, so Hegel’s attitude was completely different. Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription who was almost at the level of the Divine Smith. Any inscriber who learned alongside Lin Li would definitely gain plenty of advanced inscription knowledge from him. If not for the fact that he was the Great Monarch of the Octopus Clan, Hegel would have recommended himself to Lin Li.
Hegel knew that Lin Li’s request would probably be an absolutely excellent opportunity for the Octopus Clan. However, he was also a little worried. After all, Lin Li had an extremely high attainment in inscription, so gathering a sufficient number of inscribers who met Lin Li’s requirements was still a tricky issue for Hegel.
Besides, the Octopus Clan still required a large number of inscribers to keep their businesses running, and they couldn’t possibly terminate a huge portion of their magic scroll business because of this. Furthermore, inscribers were an important force of the Octopus Clan without which the Octopus Clan would definitely face more trouble in the Endless Ocean.
Hence, Hegel suppressed his agitation, and cautiously asked Lin Li, “Master Felic, what level of inscribers do you need?”
Lin Li could completely guess what was on Hegel’s mind, so he smiled, and said, “Great Monarch Hegel, you don’t have to worry, I won’t make you hand over your cherished inscribers. I just need about 20-30 mid-rank or senior inscribers. Besides, I believe that as long as they are not fools, their capabilities will definitely improve by the time they return to the clan.”
“I’ll find you some senior inscribers!” Hegel exclaimed, completely ignoring the option of mid-level inscribers. There were many high-level inscribers in the Octopus Clan.
Sending out 20-30 senior inscribers was not an issue for the Octopus Clan at all. Perhaps the biggest problem to consider now was who to send to the Tower of Dusk. Hegel even considered sending his son, Harquess, to Lin Li along with the other inscribers in hopes that Harquess could return with Guru-level attainments in inscription.
Lin Li nodded, and confirmed, “Yes, they can be mid-rank or senior inscribers, or a mix of both.”
“Alright, how about this, Master Felic, you may look at the inscribers of our clan during your visit to our place, and pick them out as you please. It won’t be a problem even if you’d like to take 200 or 300 of them away with you,” Hegel quickly agreed. He wouldn’t mind really giving 200 or 300 inscribers to Lin Li.
Lin Li calculated the time, and realized that there was less than a month left until the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration. He was planning to wait until the celebration was over, and return to the Breezy Plains. After all, there were still quite a few things that he had to handle there. Hence, after settling on a time with Hegel, he decided to visit the Octopus Clan in two days’ time, thinking that it wouldn’t take that long to pick out a few Inscribers anyway.
After seeing Hegel and the others off, it was still as crowded as ever at the entrance of the Tower of Dusk’s embassy. Hearing that Lin Li, the Guru of Inscription, had returned, they quickly came forth to visit Lin Li with the gifts that they had prepared. Although not all forces eagerly needed inscribers, it would still be a good thing for them to get acquainted with a Guru of Inscription.
The Siren Clan, which really needed Lin Li’s help, naturally wouldn’t procrastinate at this juncture. Soon, Prince Cleve arrived at the embassy of the Tower of Dusk again. He had heard from Hegel that Lin Li would be visiting the Octopus Clan in two days’ time, and the Siren Clan’s turf happened to be near the Octopus Clan’s. Thus, they immediately came over to invite Lin Li.
Lin Li happened to still need the Siren Clan’s Siren’s Tears for concocting a potion meant for enhancing the mental strength of mages. Hence, after some detailed discussion, Lin Li also settled on a time to visit the Siren Clan. Anyway, he would still be able to bring back some inscribers from the Octopus Clan, so they could help him out when the time came.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and it was time for Lin Li to visit the Octopus Clan as agreed upon with Hegel. Great Monarch Hegel, Grand Elder Hayes, and the several other elders once again arrived at the Tower of Dusk’s embassy to invite Lin Li in.
However, Lin Li was not the only one who followed Hegel and the others to the Octopus Clan as a guest. Elder Zumar of the Illuminati was tagging along as well. Clearly, the Illuminati was determined to get close to Lin Li this time, and they weren’t hiding their intentions at all.
Lin Li didn’t oppose having Elder Zumar tag along, either. After all, he indeed needed a guide to take him on a tour around the Endless Ocean.
After leaving the capital of the Gilded Kingdom and boarding The Star that belonged to the Tower of Dusk, they began sailing quickly towards the area of the sea where the Octopus Clan resided.
Sailing at full speed, The Star took less than four days to reach the territory of the Octopus Clan. The Star was moored at the pier of an island named Tidal Island, which was the place that was specially meant for receiving guests of the Octopus Clan. There were merchants from all races and clans who ran businesses on the island, which was probably just as prosperous as Helena Port of the Gilded Kingdom.
After disembarking from The Star, Hegel specifically instructed the Octopus Clan members at the pier to guard The Star carefully and serve the crew of The Star well. He had seen how protective Lin Li was towards his subordinates, and knew that Lin Li wouldn’t mind offending even the powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom for the sake of his men.
After making arrangements, Hegel led Lin Li and the others to a large, beautiful building in the center of Tidal Island. There was also a teleportation array in the building, which was specially used to entertain the distinguished guests of the Octopus Clan, that could lead users to the underwater capital of the Octopus Clan—Lantis City.
Two days before their departure, Hegel had already relayed the news back to the Octopus Clan, and made various arrangements for the welcoming ceremony. Thus, when they arrived on the island, the Octopus Clan members were already long prepared to welcome and receive them. The scale of the welcoming ceremony was just as large and grand as when the Gilded Kingdom welcomed Lin Li.
Of course, Lin Li didn’t care about such formalities at all. Seeing that it was about time, he said to Hegel, “Great Monarch Hegel, we can skip this, I’m really eager to take a tour around Lantis City.”
In fact, Hegel had taken inspiration from the Gilded Kingdom for this welcoming ceremony because the Sea Clan wasn’t good at such things. Seeing that Lin Li wasn’t a fan of the ceremony, he decided not to insist any further. Hence, he waved his hand to gesture for his subordinates to leave. He smilingly said, “Haha, Master Felic, please forgive me. Since you don’t like this, we’ll skip it and head straight to Lantis City.”
They arrived in front of the teleportation array, and Lin Li started sizing it up, only to realize that it wasn’t an advanced teleportation array, and was not at all comparable to the one in the Sky Castle. The range of teleportation was probably only 50 kilometers. Thus, the Octopus Clan’s Lantis City was probably at the bottom of the sea near Tidal Island.
After the few of them entered the teleportation array, the professionals outside activated it, and rays of mana light began to flow along the patterns on the teleportation array. By the time the lines were filled with magic, dazzling rays of light suddenly emerged from the teleportation array, shrouding all the figures within.
