Chapter 563: He is My Master—Gotta Pay More!

Chapter 563: He's My Master... Raise the Price!

Li Wei heard the Windchaser's words without surprise.

He had never expected the Elemental Tower to readily agree to his demands.

He had originally intended to reveal a bit of his true strength to intimidate the tower’s upper echelons.

Unexpectedly, the Elemental Tower had offered concessions first.

Li Wei looked at him and asked, “What are the conditions?”

The Windchaser replied, “Slay a legendary lich.”

Li Wei stared at him for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said, “Are you serious?”

The Windchaser replied, “That is the Tower Lord’s decision.”

“If you wish to join the Elemental Tower, then go and slay the legendary lich who has brought calamity upon the world. Prove that you are worthy.”

Li Wei let out a cold laugh and said, “You’re asking me to do something your entire Elemental Tower couldn’t accomplish? Are you all truly so incompetent… or do you think I’m just a fool?”

Of course, it was something he could do.

But who exactly was this legendary lich?

He was the father of his soul companion.

He was his good master.

He was his trusted comrade-in-arms.

So… raise the price!

Li Wei sneered and said, “If I really pull this off, then the position of Tower Lord should rightfully be mine.”

“How dare you! How dare you slander the Tower Lord!”

“You delusional fool, daring even to covet the Tower Lord’s seat—I think you came here only to cause trouble. Lord Windchaser, let us join forces and apprehend him!”

The two legendary mages behind the Windchaser shouted furiously upon hearing this.

The Windchaser himself, however, remained silent.

After a brief pause, he looked at Li Wei and said, “If you cannot kill the legendary lich, then destroying the Death Shroud conjured by the lich will also qualify you as a councilor of the Elemental Tower.”

Li Wei’s heart stirred slightly—destroying the Death Shroud.

That task was actually feasible.

He could simply negotiate with the legendary lich, ask him to temporarily withdraw the Death Shroud, and put on a show for the Elemental Tower. That shouldn’t be difficult.

Actually destroying the Death Shroud would be no different from wiping out every undead creature in existence.

But faking its destruction—that would be far easier.

Li Wei sneered again and said, “Your condition isn’t much different from killing the lich outright.”

“Everyone knows that the Death Shroud is a natural disaster caused by the convergence of countless undead.”

“To destroy the Death Shroud, one must kill all those undead. You’re asking me to do what even your entire Elemental Tower combined cannot achieve?”

“That’s utterly ridiculous.”

“If you don’t want me joining the Elemental Tower, just say it plainly. Why all these roundabout games?”

“If I could truly destroy the Death Shroud, I’d deserve at least the title of Deputy Tower Lord.”

The Windchaser looked at Li Wei and said, “Since you refuse this, and you refuse that, the Elemental Tower cannot force you to comply.”

“In that case, perhaps you should just leave now. We’ll pretend you were never here.”

Li Wei replied, “I cannot completely destroy the Death Shroud.”

“But if it’s only about making it vanish for a period of time, then perhaps I can manage that.”

Upon hearing this, the Windchaser immediately showed interest.

Not just him—the Tower Lord behind him was also intrigued.

The Elemental Tower possessed many legendary mages, each capable of casting forbidden spells.

Yet they still couldn’t deal with the undead army.

The main reason was the Death Shroud.

The Death Shroud greatly weakened the power of forbidden spells.

At the same time, it resurrected any undead within its domain.

Back and forth it went.

Even apocalyptic-level forbidden spells lost their effectiveness when used against the undead horde.

All the Elemental Tower could do was sigh in frustration, powerless to act.

The undead catastrophe ravaging the land was a grave matter for the Elemental Tower.

The longer it persisted, the greater the losses.

Not just the energy required to maintain the floating islands—

But resources of every kind.

The ancient battlefield’s undead were once under the Elemental Tower’s control. Now they had broken free and spread everywhere.

The Empire had already begun pressuring the Elemental Tower through the Mage Association, demanding swift solutions.

Noble families, seeing the Elemental Tower in such peril, had reduced their willingness to send their heirs there for training.

This dealt a major blow to the tower’s income.

Under pressure from all sides, the Elemental Tower’s leadership was desperate to find a breakthrough.

At the very least, they needed to give the Empire’s various factions hope—

Hope that the Elemental Tower could resolve the undead catastrophe.

Fighting the undead disaster wasn’t solely the Elemental Tower’s responsibility.

But in this regard, they had always borne the brunt.

They couldn’t escape accountability.

Li Wei’s words gave the Elemental Tower’s leaders a glimmer of hope for breaking through.

If he could truly make the Death Shroud disappear—even temporarily—

Then the Elemental Tower could launch a coordinated forbidden spell assault.

They could destroy most of the undead army and turn the tide.

Li Wei’s casual suggestion sent the Elemental Tower’s leadership into deep contemplation.

The Lord of the Hall of Truth was already standing outside the seventh-floor entrance.

He had overheard Li Wei’s conversation with the Windchaser.

Seeing that Li Wei was not in immediate danger, he chose not to reveal himself just yet.

Now, upon hearing that Li Wei claimed to have a way to dispel the Death Shroud,

he could not wait another moment and rushed into the upper-level conference hall of the Elemental Tower.

“This is a rare opportunity. If he truly can do it, we might be able to reverse our current predicament.”

“He’s lying. The only way to make the Death Shroud vanish is to kill the legendary lich—or slay every undead creature.”

Someone questioned Li Wei’s claim.

It was true—the Death Shroud was formed from the coalesced death essence of countless undead.

But without the intervention and control of the legendary lich,

the Death Shroud would merely remain a chaotic mass of death energy—

its threat greatly diminished.

Once under the lich’s command, however,

it could mobilize all its power to resist external attacks and resurrect the dead.

The difference between these two states was hundreds of times over.

The Lord of the Hall of Truth said, “If we don’t try, how can we know for certain he cannot do it?”

“If by chance he succeeds, wouldn’t this be our best opportunity to turn things around?”

Persuaded by the Lord of the Hall of Truth, the upper echelon of the Elemental Tower decided to give it a try.

The Windchaser looked at Li Wei and said, “The Tower Master has granted you an opportunity. If you truly succeed, you will become a councilor of the Elemental Tower.”

“And as for the bounty placed on you by the Church of Light, you needn’t worry anymore. The Elemental Tower will bear the pressure from them.”

Li Wei smiled faintly and replied, “I never worried about being hunted by the Church of Light in the first place.”

“That much doesn’t require your reminder.”

Come now—if one became a councilor of the Elemental Tower,

then naturally, the tower would have to withstand the pressure from the Church of Light.

Even if Li Wei hadn’t mentioned it, when he requested to become a councilor,

the leadership should have already considered that very issue.

Now they brought it up again—clearly nothing more than a bargaining chip.

Li Wei understood well enough: the Elemental Tower desperately wanted him to succeed.

Well then, let them not blame him for asking for too much.

Li Wei said, “Dispelling the Death Shroud is no easy feat. None of you here could accomplish it—that alone tells you how difficult it is.”

“Even if I manage it, the cost will be immense.”

Hearing this, the Windchaser frowned and asked, “What else do you want?”

Now the tables had turned.

The Elemental Tower needed something from Li Wei—not the other way around.

Li Wei replied, “I want access to every forbidden spell known to the Elemental Tower. And I also wish to participate in several of your most classified research projects.”

When Li Wei made his bold demands, the Windchaser’s expression shifted dramatically.

Others stood dumbfounded.

This wasn’t just seeking a seat among the councilors—it sounded like he intended to take the entire Elemental Tower home with him.

After all, what were the most valuable assets of the Elemental Tower? Precisely those things Li Wei had named.

The floating city, the Elemental Tower itself—all were replaceable.

They could always build anew.

But the forbidden spells and secret research projects—each touched upon the very lifeblood of the Elemental Tower.

Why did legendary mages seek out the Elemental Tower?

Because the tower possessed vast collections of forbidden spells.

Independent legendary mages found it nearly impossible to acquire such knowledge;

to learn them, they had no choice but to join the Elemental Tower.

That was the foundation upon which the tower stood.

As for classified research—it pointed toward the future path of the Elemental Tower.

Each successful breakthrough promised great gains and transformative changes.

Previously, Li Wei had helped the Sunlight Secret Research Division within the Elemental Tower

break through two branch studies under its jurisdiction:

the development of radiant magic models and radiant arcane cannons.

These efforts led directly to the completion of both Radiant Magic and Radiant Arcane Cannons.

Both innovations profoundly impacted the Elemental Tower.

Radiant Magic dealt devastating damage to undead—

comparable even to holy magic.

More importantly, it required far less stringent conditions to master than divine spells.

Just as the Elemental Tower faced the undead apocalypse,

Radiant Magic significantly bolstered their strength.

Many mages purchased and studied it.

The Radiant Arcane Cannon became one of the Elemental Tower’s top-selling products.

To combat the undead invasion, the empire procured large numbers of these cannons from the Elemental Tower.

Against the undead, the Radiant Arcane Cannon proved ten times more effective than ordinary ones.

Seizing this wartime opportunity, the Elemental Tower reaped enormous profits.

And all of that came merely from two branch technologies beneath the Sunlight division.

There were dozens more such high-tier technologies hidden within the same division.

Should they fully unravel the mysteries of sunlight magic,

the transformation it would bring to the Elemental Tower would be earth-shattering.

Once the core research succeeded,

the derivative branches would yield results and products almost effortlessly.

Besides the Solaris Top-Secret Research Laboratory, the Elemental Tower housed two other research facilities of equal confidentiality.

Li Wei had never participated in any of them, but he had heard of their existence.

One was the Geomantic Vein Top-Secret Research Laboratory.

The other was the Stellar Core Top-Secret Research Laboratory.

To those outside these elite circles, everything about the top-secret research was classified beyond comprehension.

But for those who had ascended to this level—

even without knowing the specifics, they had at least heard rumors.

The three laboratories often competed with one another over breakthroughs.

Li Wei first learned about the Geomantic Vein and Stellar Core labs after the completion of the Solaris Art and the Solaris Magitech Cannon technology. It was during a moment of pride, when he boasted to his team members about how envious the other two labs were of their success.

For top-secret research divisions, it was entirely normal to spend decades without producing anything.

These endeavors were, more often than not, investments with no return.

Achieving revolutionary technological breakthroughs was never easy.

In the highest-level conference chamber of the Elemental Tower,

everyone fell silent upon hearing Li Wei’s request.

Several individuals turned their gaze toward the Master of the Hall of Truth.

After a brief pause, the Master spoke: “I have no objections to Li Wei participating in several top-secret projects…”

“That is impossible. Absolutely not permitted,” the Tower Lord rejected outright.

The Master of the Hall of Truth only considered how to produce results, to explore new magical theories and truths.

With Li Wei's abilities, his involvement might indeed accelerate progress significantly.

From that perspective, the Master supported the idea.

The Tower Lord, however, thought deeper—

always prioritizing the interests of the Elemental Tower above all else.

No one—not even Li Wei—could be allowed to control all three top-secret research initiatives.

Seeing this, the Master could only say: “Li Wei has already taken part in Solaris-related top-secret research within the Hall of Truth. He may join the Solaris Core Research Division.”

Upon learning that Li Wei had already been involved in Solaris studies,

the Tower Lord raised no further objections.

“As for forbidden spells… isn’t he a fire-elementalist? Then grant him two fire-based forbidden incantations.”

Zhu Fengzhe relayed the decision made by the senior council to Li Wei.

Unsatisfied with the offer, Li Wei began to negotiate.

Eventually, the Elemental Tower agreed to let him enter the Solaris Core Research Division,

and granted him four forbidden spells—one each from earth, water, wind, and fire elements.

Still wanting more, Li Wei pushed further.

The Tower Lord ignored him completely, simply stating: if you want to do it, then do it; otherwise, get lost.

When word spread of the final conditions offered by the Tower Lord,

everyone present was stunned into numbness.

Li Wei’s audacious demands shocked them all deeply.

So much so that when he haggled further with Zhu Fengzhe,

and eventually settled on an outrageously absurd agreement,

they found themselves surprisingly accepting of it.

At least it was far less than what Li Wei originally proposed.

Zhu Fengzhe handed Li Wei a communication crystal.

“This allows direct contact with the Tower Lord. When you prepare to dispel the Death Shroud, inform him beforehand.”

Li Wei accepted the crystal and nodded. “Mm, alright.”

Pocketing the device, he glanced back at the crowd watching him eagerly.

Then, with a leap, he soared outward from the floating city.

A legendary mage trailing behind Zhu Fengzhe gazed at Li Wei’s retreating figure, puzzled.

“He really believes Li Wei can pull it off?”

It was a question shared by everyone present.

If the Death Shroud were truly that easy to break,

the Elemental Tower wouldn't be helpless against the legendary lich.

Zhu Fengzhe replied calmly, “What harm is there in trying?”

“At worst, we lose nothing more than a single communication crystal.”

Hearing this, the others suddenly understood.

So neither the Tower Lord nor Lord Zhu Fengzhe fully trusted Li Wei.

As Zhu Fengzhe said—

failure would cost only a crystal.

And in exchange, they gained a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To the Elemental Tower, it was like manna falling from heaven.

(End of Chapter)