Chapter 166: Seeing the Crystal Flower Again

Chapter 166: Meeting the Crystal Flower Once More

"Whom should I ask for help with the crafting?"

Li Wei buried his head in thought.

With his rudimentary, jack-of-all-trades alchemy skills, there was absolutely no hope of him crafting magical equipment himself at this stage.

Moreover, the Heart of the Source Necklace was no ordinary piece of magical gear.

He had not even manufactured the lowest tier of magical equipment yet.

By the time he ground his novice alchemy skills to that level, the opportunity would have long passed.

When it was time to seek aid, one simply had to seek it.

Refining the mythril was only done because he possessed the capability.

Had the process of refining mythril been too convoluted, the difficulty too steep.

No matter how loath Li Wei was to part with ten percent of the mythril as payment, he still would have had to produce it to hire help.

When perplexed, one should simply ask.

Li Wei went directly to find Torresta.

Torresta would certainly know.

"Teacher, I wish to craft a piece of advanced magical equipment. Who do you think would be appropriate for me to seek out?" Li Wei inquired.

Torresta replied, "Has Troska not come to Maple Leaf City? You can go find him."

"Troska?"

Hearing the name, Li Wei froze for a moment.

After a brief deliberation, he finally recalled who it was.

He had actually met the man before.

It was the master blacksmith he had encountered back at the mages' exchange conference.

"Is he very formidable?" Li Wei asked.

Torresta let out a chuckle and said, "He is the number one master blacksmith of the Northern Human Realm; even the dwarf artisans express admiration for his craftsmanship."

Li Wei understood, nodding hastily as he said, "Thank you, Teacher."

"I am not well-acquainted with Troska. If you wish to ask him to forge equipment, you can seek Evelyn's assistance."

An origami crane flew out from before Torresta, settling upon Li Wei’s shoulder.

"It will help you find Evelyn."

Li Wei departed from the sixth floor of the mage tower.

Martin and Comas were currently conversing.

He saw Li Wei coming down.

A trace of envy flashed imperceptibly within his eyes.

In all these years, Li Wei was the very first person who could enter and leave the sixth floor of the mage tower at will.

Even if he wished to go to the sixth floor, he had to greet Torresta first and wait until Torresta granted permission.

"Mage Li Wei, what business did you have with the Tower Master? If it is a minor matter, you can come to me; there is no need to trouble him."

Martin greeted Li Wei, taking the initiative to show goodwill.

Li Wei responded with a smile, "Just some matters regarding cultivation to consult Teacher on."

"Many thanks, Mage Martin. I will certainly seek your guidance when the opportunity arises in the future."

Martin offered a smile and said, "Though my attainments in magic are far inferior to the Tower Master's, the Tower Master is a mental-type mage and might not be particularly adept in elemental matters. If there is anything you do not understand during your elemental magic cultivation, you can come to me so we may discuss it together."

"Next time, certainly."

"Mage Martin, Mage Comas, I still have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first," Li Wei said.

The two nodded, and Martin said, "Then go attend to your business first."

After Li Wei left.

Comas looked toward Martin and asked, "Is he the disciple the Tower Master recently accepted?"

Martin was somewhat surprised, "You haven't seen him before?"

Comas replied, "First time."

"Then how did he recognize you? Oh, right, he went to attend the mages' exchange conference before," Martin remarked.

Hearing this, Comas assumed an expression of sudden realization.

"Then it is likely he saw me previously at the mages' exchange conference."

At the exchange conference, he had consistently stayed with a group of third-tier mages to discuss spells and exchange cultivation experiences.

Naturally, he had never interacted with Li Wei.

Were it not for the fact that Li Wei was Torresta's disciple.

To a third-tier mage, a first-tier mage simply did not merit notice.

There was no need to pay extra attention.

Li Wei left the mage tower, the origami crane leading him toward the inner city.

He wore a look of peculiarity.

"Evelyn has come to Maple Leaf City as well?" He glanced around left and right, discovering that after not venturing out for half a month, the populace within Maple Leaf City seemed to have multiplied significantly.

"What is going on? What happened? Why are there so many people?"

Li Wei felt somewhat perplexed in his heart.

Following the origami crane, Li Wei arrived at a small courtyard in the western part of the city.

"Halt, who are you? What are you here for?"

Two female swordsmen at the entrance of the courtyard barred Li Wei's path.

Noticing the emblems of Flying Flower City upon the duo, Li Wei said, "My name is Li Wei. I have come to visit Madame Rose."

Hearing this, the female swordsmen exchanged a glance.

One of them said, "I will go inform the commander."

The female swordsman turned and entered the courtyard.

A moment later, a swordmaid clad in armor stepped out.

"I am Madame Rose’s Flying Flower Swordmaid, Sakura. Please follow me."

Sakura led Li Wei toward the interior of the courtyard.

Li Wei met Evelyn inside the courtyard; she was attired in a purple mink-skin coat.

Only three people remained within the courtyard.

Sakura stood aside, her gaze fixed on Levi, ensuring he posed no threat to Madame Rose.

A paper crane perched lightly upon Evelyn’s finger.

The crane had slipped into the courtyard ahead of Levi.

Just as Levi opened his mouth to speak,

Evelyn cut in, "I know why you are here."

Levi replied, "Then I must ask for Madame Rose's assistance."

Evelyn countered, "Helping you is simple enough, provided you help me find the crystal flower hidden within the Mage Tower."

An expression of surprise crossed Levi's face, though he quickly masked it.

He inquired, "What is this crystal flower?"

Observing his reaction, Evelyn cast a meaningful look in his direction.

With a turn of her right hand, a pink crystal flower materialized in her palm.

"This is the crystal flower."

Levi's eyes narrowed slightly; it was identical to the two crystal flowers already in his possession.

After a moment of deliberation, he asked, "What brings Madame Rose to Maple Leaf City?"

Evelyn replied, "Some time ago, Elias told me that a crystal flower had appeared in Maple Leaf City."

"Elias?" Levi looked bewildered.

Evelyn clarified, "He is also a Kin of the Hundred Flowers."

She continued, "My investigations revealed that the crystal flower is currently inside the Mage Tower."

"My status makes it inconvenient for me to enter the Mage Tower to search for it, which is why I require your aid."

"Find the crystal flower for me, and I shall introduce you to Trotska."

An overwhelming sense of irony washed over Levi.

The crystal flower was already in his hands, yet he was supposed to go searching for it?

Pondering for a moment, Levi asked, "What do you want the crystal flower for?"

Evelyn explained, "The City Lord has been missing for a long time, and there has been no word from the other two Kin of the Hundred Flowers."

"The crystal flower in Maple Leaf City is highly likely connected to the City Lord and the other two."

Levi understood then; she merely wished to use this opportunity to find the old City Lord and her companions.

She harbored no malice toward the bearer of the crystal flower.

Levi looked at Evelyn, weighing his options for a long time before making a decision.

Toresta knew Evelyn, which meant Evelyn also knew he was Toresta's disciple.

At the very least, his life was not in danger.

Levi decided to lay his cards on the table. Producing a crystal flower, he said, "The crystal flower is right here in my hand."

Surprise flickered across Evelyn's face, though it was not entirely unexpected.

She had already harbored a faint suspicion when she noticed Levi's unusual reaction earlier.

The reason she had explained so much to Levi was precisely to reassure him that revealing the crystal flower would bring him no harm.

Then, a second crystal flower appeared in Levi's left hand.

Staring at the two crystal flowers in his grasp,

this time, Evelyn was genuinely stunned.

Even with her prior suspicions, she never imagined that the two flowers belonging to the other two individuals would both be in Levi's possession.

"What happened to them?" Evelyn could not help but ask.

(End of Chapter)