Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3075: Chapter 3076: The Ban Order

Angel originally wanted to get straight to the point and ask Kanter what specific matter he was looking for.

But as soon as he started speaking, he suddenly glanced at Kanter’s wizard robe.

In Angel’s impression, Kanter always represented ”classic elegance.” His attire always carried the refined touch of a classic wizard.

Almost every time they met, Kanter wore a specially crafted blue-black wizard robe embroidered with Lavindula flowers and a matching triangular soft hat, with glowing Lavindula flowers hanging from the tip.

A man adorning flowers is not inappropriate; rather, it carries a unique elegance.

But today, Kanter’s outfit showed a noticeable difference. Although he was still wearing a wizard robe, the dark pattern on the robe was no longer Lavindula flowers; it was instead full-blooming Fire Lotuses.

It’s important to note that Lavindula flowers are symbols of the House of Lilith. As the current head of the House of Lilith, Kanter has always been proud of the Lavindula mark.

And now, he actually changed the patterns on his wizard robe?

Could it be that the hanging on the wizard’s hat would also be Fire Lotuses?... Angel couldn’t determine that today because Kanter wasn’t wearing a hat.

Kanter glanced down at his wizard robe as if he understood something: ”You want to ask why the pattern changed?”

Angel nodded; he hadn’t changed the pattern last time he saw Kanter at the Sea of Mist.

”Although I didn’t want to change the pattern either, sometimes one must make some compromises with reality.”

Compromising with reality? Angel looked at Kanter in confusion.

Kanter stroked his upturned white beard and said in a nostalgic tone: ”To say, it’s actually due to an encounter not long ago...”

Angel originally wondered if Kanter had met someone fated, leading him to compromise. But as Kanter continued speaking, Angel realized that the situation was entirely different.

Kanter’s encounter wasn’t with a person; instead, it was with a Dark Fire Lotus imbued with Nether fire... The location was in the Region of Fire within the Tidal Realm.

Since it’s in the Region of Fire, there’s no doubt that this Dark Fire Lotus is indeed an elemental creature.

To be precise, it’s a three-hundred-year-old newborn elemental sprite.

That’s right, Kanter had his eye on this elemental sprite.

And it’s not for himself; it’s actually for... Kirie.

Kanter himself has compatible fire elemental creatures, even though he came across many intriguing ones in the Tidal Realm, none being the Dark Fire Lotus. The attributes of the Dark Fire Lotus don’t match Kanter, but they fit Kirie perfectly. In fact, in Kanter’s opinion, the compatibility between the Dark Fire Lotus and Kirie exceeds 99 percent.

Kirie possesses Nether Fire, which is one in a million within the fire element realm. Similarly, the Dark Fire Lotus is a fire element elf with nether qualities, pairing perfectly with Kirie.

The rarity of the Dark Fire Lotus is undeniable. As it’s currently within the sealed Tidal Realm, there’s no need to worry about it being targeted... but the opening of the Tidal Realm is inevitable, and with the arrival of figures like Rhein, even if the elemental creatures choose to hide, the unstoppable flood of World Will would expose the Tidal Realm.

The opening of the Tidal Realm is unavoidable.

Moreover, Kanter believes that the Tidal Realm could be discovered by outsiders at any time, and once discovered, opening is not far behind.

By then, surely, numerous wizards would swarm in, and if someone spots the Dark Fire Lotus... Just thinking about it gives Kanter immense pressure.

It’s not that he doubts Kirie, but Kirie hasn’t yet stepped into being an official wizard and doesn’t have the qualification to wield the Dark Fire Lotus.

He worries that before Kirie advances, the Dark Fire Lotus will be claimed by others.

So, Kanter is currently trying to figure out how to take the Dark Fire Lotus away before the Tidal Realm opens, thereby avoiding potential future disputes.

And Kanter also obtained permission from The Sage Magu — as long as the Dark Fire Lotus agrees, Kanter can take it away.

The issue is, the Dark Fire Lotus doesn’t seem interested in Kanter; it much prefers to stay in the Magma Lake of the Region of Fire. No matter how Kanter persuades or expresses goodwill, it remains indifferent.

Kanter’s wizard robe being changed to the Fire Lotus pattern is actually a strategy to persuade the Dark Fire Lotus... As for the effect, while it hasn’t shown yet, Kanter believes that as long as he pays enough attention to details and persists, there’s a chance the Dark Fire Lotus will be moved.

”So it’s for the Dark Fire Lotus...” Angel stroked his chin: no wonder when he first saw the steady pattern on the wizard robe, he felt a sense of familiarity.

Previously, when Angel was in the Region of Fire, he really saw that same Dark Fire Lotus spread over the Magma Lake.

In terms of the nature of the flames, the Dark Fire Lotus is unique, absolutely sought after by countless wizards. However, for Angel, the Dark Fire Lotus doesn’t suit him.

What Angel wants from a fire elemental creature is one capable of assisting in conventional alchemy. The flame of the Dark Fire Lotus is too singular in nature, which limits the type of alchemical tools that can be refined, making it not Angel’s first choice.

In fact, even after Angel saw the Dark Fire Lotus, he never considered capturing it.

Nevertheless, one must admit that the characteristics of this Dark Fire Lotus are indeed highly compatible with Kirie.

”If you want to help Kirie find a fire element elf, I think Kanter should let Kirie go personally.” Angel said.

Kanter sighed: ”I know as well. When we choose elemental creatures, likewise, the creatures also choose us. If Kirie were to go, perhaps the Dark Fire Lotus would actively choose Kirie because of her Nether fire aura... but Kirie can’t go right now.”

”Kirie can’t go? Is it because Wizard Rhein has sealed the passage to the Tidal Realm?” Angel inquired.

Kanter shook his head: ”No, it’s because Kirie has other matters she can’t leave.”

At this point, Kanter raised his eyes to look at Angel: ”Actually, my reaching out to you is also related to Kirie.”

Angel: ”Master Kanter, please feel free to speak. I previously promised that if it’s something I can do, I’ll do my best to assist.”

Back when Angel called for help in the Sea of Mist, Kanter volunteered, hoping to meet Angel and seek his help... At that time, Angel agreed, naturally not going back on his word.

After a slight pause, Angel curiously asked: ”Did something happen to Kirie?”

Kanter sighed: ”Indeed, Kirie is currently facing some troubling issues. Although Kirie herself feels fine about it, I can’t stand seeing a good girl getting involved in such matters... so I came to find you.”

Involved in such matters? What kind of matters?

Even though Angel didn’t know what Kanter was referring to, from his words, it could be inferred that this matter isn’t very urgent. Otherwise, Kirie wouldn’t have agreed to do it.

Furthermore, Kanter could have already brought up Kirie’s difficulties back when they were at the Sea of Mist, but he didn’t mention them immediately, similarly indicating that the matter isn’t too urgent.

Now, Kanter suddenly urgently seeks him out, likely not because of changes in Kirie’s situation, but mainly because of the Dark Fire Lotus...

True to expectations, Kanter’s subsequent words confirmed Angel’s speculation.

It was indeed because of the Dark Fire Lotus that Kanter sought out Angel, hoping Angel could help solve Qi Li’s problem.

However, there was one thing Angel guessed wrong. Previously, Kanter didn’t mention it not because he wasn’t anxious, but because he hadn’t figured out how to say it.

After all, the matter concerning Qi Li was a bit difficult to talk about... possibly involving Qi Li’s pride.

Actually, the issue can be traced back to the time of the New Star Tournament.

Qi Li also participated in the New Star Tournament, but her purpose was not to vie for a title; rather, she hoped to defeat someone on the stage, under everyone’s gaze.

That someone referred to by Qi Li was indeed ”Sea God” Florenza’s... student.

That is, ”Son of the Ocean” Jiebo.

Qi Li and Jiebo have always been at odds, and every time they meet, conflicts arise. Qi Li knows that Jiebo has no direct relation to her great enemy.

But Jiebo is Florenza’s disciple.

Since Qi Li couldn’t deal with Florenza, she could only transfer her hatred onto Jiebo.

Qi Li’s obsession was to defeat Jiebo under the spotlight of the New Star Tournament. However, things didn’t turn out as she wished.

It wasn’t that Qi Li couldn’t defeat Jiebo, but rather that the mechanisms of the New Star Tournament didn’t allow her to encounter Jiebo.

The root cause was primarily due to Jiebo’s bad luck, as soon after the battles began, he encountered Xiliu, who was his nemesis, and lost.

Later, for some unknown reason, Jiebo didn’t participate in the duel against Suyatutai, resulting in another loss.

Even though Qi Li conceded multiple times, she still didn’t encounter Jiebo due to the tournament’s structure.

In other words, Qi Li’s yearning to face Jiebo in the New Star Tournament ended in vain.

Frustrated, Qi Li abandoned the tournament altogether and fought Jiebo outside the arena... That battle was earth-shattering, and Jiebo even summoned massive waves that submerged several blocks of the Sky Mechanical City.

Unfortunately, one of the submerged places happened to be Fragrant Plaza—a gathering place for Alchemists specializing in Fragrance Studies.

The submergence of Fragrant Plaza had already infuriated these Alchemists; more seriously, a statue of an ancient Alchemy Master of Fragrance Studies was completely toppled by the surging seawater. And this statue was the spiritual faith of many Alchemists in Fragrance Studies.

As a result, Jiebo and Qi Li were now resented by the Alchemists specializing in Fragrance Studies.

They didn’t care who caused more damage; as long as the statue’s collapse was due to their fight, both of them were considered guilty.

Angel actually knew about this matter as well. Though he wasn’t on the scene, upon learning about the situation, he promptly contacted Anthony to help Qi Li deal with the aftermath.

With Anthony’s intervention, the residents affected by the battle forgave Qi Li, but the hatred from the Fragrance Studies Alchemists was hard to dispel.

Nonetheless, considering Anthony’s involvement, the Fragrance Studies Alchemists refrained from inflicting any substantial harm on Qi Li and Jiebo and merely imposed a ban—

Qi Li and Jiebo were barred from buying from any Alchemists specializing in Fragrance Studies.

This meant that in the Southern Domain, they wouldn’t be able to purchase any tools related to fragrance... even if they asked others to buy for them, once discovered, the associates would also be banned.

This ban wasn’t excessively harsh. At least they could still purchase other Alchemical Tools apart from those related to Fragrance Studies.

As for the fragrance-related Alchemy Works, aside from ”scent,” a significant portion can be substituted, allowing them to survive.

Upon learning of this outcome, Angel felt it was satisfactory and ceased to concern himself further with the matter.

However, now Kanter brought another follow-up to this issue, an angle Angel was completely unaware of:

Qi Li wants to lift the ban.

Because this ban also implicates everyone in the House of Lilith and nearby Wizard Families.

Although the others in the House of Lilith are not banned and can purchase fragrance, sellers fear they might pass the fragrance onto Qi Li, making themselves affiliated, so they dare not sell fragrance to them.

Though the House of Lilith is inherited through a single line, it still has numerous followers, including Wizard Families.

It’s impossible for these Wizard Families not to have Witches.

And the majority of Witches have a fondness for fragrances. Due to Qi Li’s situation, a large number of Witches have been ”covertly” blacklisted by fragrance stores.

Although they haven’t openly blamed Qi Li, Qi Li feels guilty.

In the future, destined to become the leader of the House of Lilith, she will inherit the followers and relationships. In her view, causing harm to these followers because of her would be detrimental to the House of Lilith.

Hence, Qi Li believes she needs to take responsibility for this situation; thus, she again returned to the Sky Mechanical City, attempting to find a way to lift her ban.

A lot happened in between, including verbal abuse...

Upon hearing this, Angel frowned, because he knows Qi Li’s situation. Qi Li has clear mental issues, with severe tendencies toward withdrawal; facing such humiliation, even if it’s just verbal, is equally damaging to her as physical harm.

Luckily, Qi Li endured and, after overcoming numerous challenges, managed to show sincerity to several Alchemists.

Due to Qi Li’s persistent spirit and Kanter’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering, finally, a master from Ashiliye Academy’s Fragrance Studies met with Qi Li.

And they gave Qi Li a promise: if Qi Li organizes the primary material warehouse for Fragrance Studies within two years, they would lift the ban on her.

And Qi Li... agreed.

Upon saying this, Kanter sighed deeply, ”I didn’t expect an Alchemy Master to be so ruthless, asking Qi Li to organize the material warehouse. Nor did I expect Qi Li’s nature to be so stubborn as to agree.”

When Kanter mentioned ”organizing the material warehouse,” he couldn’t help but frown, indicating how daunting this material warehouse is.

Even though Angel has never been to the primary material warehouse of Fragrance Studies, he has heard of the place... it’s the area avoided by all Alchemists of Ashiliye Academy.

Although the primary material warehouse contains raw materials for fragrances, don’t think that fragrances smell good and their raw materials do too.

The students of Ashiliye Academy have a ”fond” nickname for the primary material warehouse.

—The Pit of Common Ingredients.