Under the guidance of a few individuals, Ivan entered this somewhat mysterious academy, which resembled a tree fortress as well as an arena, with its various buildings arranged in concentric circles, each layer shorter than the one outside it, giving it a unique appearance.
There were few apprentices and sorcerers visible on campus, leaving one to wonder where they had been assigned.
Ivan looked around with great interest.
“Please walk this way, Lord Marichadon.”
“Okay.”
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Before he could take a closer look, he was led to a large hall not far from the entrance.
It seemed he was not very welcome.
Ivan immediately understood; he thought of Dean Watkin’s words that someone suspected something valuable had been discovered in the Great Rift Valley of Gangster. Now it seemed somewhat credible.
“Sorcerer Adolf, Sorcerer Lai Te, I wish to purchase a batch of Pan Iron Root from your academy. The price is negotiable,” he said, choosing to be straightforward given their attitude.
“No problem.” The two deans exchanged glances, and Lai Te agreed after a two-second pause, then added, “However, our academy doesn’t have many Pan Iron Root left, we can only sell thirty pieces.”
“As far as I know, you’ve already ceased trading with the Lank Mercantile Association,” Ivan frowned slightly, the number not quite satisfying him.
“We have our reasons, which we regret we cannot share,” Lai Te replied, not intending to elaborate further, before asking, “Does Lord Marichadon have any other matters?”
“No,” Ivan answered flatly.
Then, with magic stones exchanged for Pan Iron Root saplings at a price similar to that of the Lank Mercantile Association, the transaction was smoothly completed.
Under the watchful eyes of a few individuals, Ivan hurriedly left the tree fortress with Janney.
Watching their rapidly disappearing figures, Tim felt slightly embarrassed. The visitor had once helped the academy’s fleet, and the Dean maintained a highly standoffish attitude—somewhat offensive to onlookers.
Unfortunately, Tim couldn’t interject.
“The academy is going through troubled times; it cannot afford distractions,” Lai Te explained casually, seeming to notice his thoughts.
“Yes, and with the animal herds causing disturbances and constantly attacking the barriers, it might affect the academy at any moment. We really don’t have the spare capacity to entertain visitors; it’s just bad timing for his visit,” Adolf agreed.
“I understand, but it’s a pity; he is indeed a person worth networking with,” Tim lamented.
He thought that once they had forged a relationship with Lord Marichadon, it would essentially be like linking up with the Enchanters Guild, which would bring many conveniences in East Capital. However, today’s event would likely close that possibility.
“Enough, the Ancient Tree Ridge needs no alliances,” said Lai Te, waving his hand dismissively before walking away.
Adolf didn’t seem to care much either, confident in the strength of Ancient Tree Ridge; once the right time came, it would surely soar, no need to overly worry about external disruptions.
Tim could only smile wryly at this, thinking the deans were somewhat biased in their views.
…
Elsewhere, Ivan rode a four-winged swamp king ant away from the area of Ancient Tree Ridge, leaving the Great Rift Valley of Gangster, only slowing down as they approached a steep cliff.
“Janney, these Pan Iron Roots are all yours,” he said as he took out the Pan Iron Roots from the Space Ring and handed them over to the person next to him.
“The quality is average, the quantity far too little,” Janney gestured casually, the Pan Iron Roots disappearing into her sleeve, hidden somewhere on her person.
“Do as you wish,” Ivan conceded, knowing he had done his utmost.
Initially, based on Solomon’s past remarks, he had a favorable impression of Ancient Tree Ridge Academy.
Now that they had shown such an attitude, and with no other way to obtain more Pan Iron Root, he could only free Janney from restraint, letting her explore on her own.
As for the secrets Ancient Tree Ridge was guarding, Solomon must have known them; a secret known by outsiders is hardly a secret at all.
“Mm-hmm, it should have been like this from the start,” Janney said with a smile in her eyes.
“Go on, but unless necessary, do not harm the lives of the sorcerers of Ancient Tree Ridge Academy,” Ivan instructed as he saw her eagerness to start, leaving Janney behind.
Confident in her infiltration skills, Ivan had no need for further instructions, as Janney knew what to do.
Ivan had walked far away when Jenny stared at Ancient Tree Mountain with a playful smile on her face.
“Sorcerer Ivan kindly offered the magic stones for free, but don’t blame me for taking them without asking. If you want to hide them, I insist on finding out what’s concealed beneath this land.”
Jenny was not at all pleased with the situation just now.
Since the other party didn’t know what was good for them and dared not to give Sorcerer Ivan face, she saw no need to maintain any pretense of politeness. In her view, everything depended on individual capabilities. If someone lacked the ability and failed to see the situation clearly, they deserved to be aggrieved.
The next second, Jenny transformed into a streak of light and entered the cliff, choosing a different method to approach Ancient Tree Mountain again.
Every ability varied in strength, and her “Power of the Earth” was undoubtedly exceptional in quality, allowing her to merge with the surrounding rocks and soil, making almost no difference.
As she neared Ancient Tree Mountain, the Venus flytrap had no awareness of her presence.
For safety, Jenny didn’t go through the front door but instead made her way around to another side of Ancient Tree Mountain.
“Something’s wrong, the depth underground is unusual.” As she was about to pass through the defensive array, Jenny’s beautiful eyes twinkled. Following her sense attached to other Pan Iron Roots, she noticed something was off:
“There must be trickery, deep underground there should be extra passages, with quite a few sorcerers carrying Pan Iron Roots over there.”
The defensive sorcery array of the entire academy was notably robust; her infiltration naturally required some thought, and having found another passage, she decisively headed further underground.
Root-like tendrils made their way through the earth, the surrounding rocks and soil automatically parting to create a pathway.
Before long, the tendrils emerged from the ground, transforming into a figure dressed in a bright yellow long dress.
“Is this— the secret of Ancient Tree Spine?”
Darkness surrounded her, with only tiny, sparse light sources glowing faintly, which didn’t hinder Jenny’s vision. This place was clearly a cave, much larger than the Dodd magic stone mine.
The surrounding mountains were abundant with sparse vegetation, primarily fungus and moss.
It was not hard to notice multiple signs of battles within the cave.
“Interesting, the particle density in this desolate place actually exceeds the outside, no wonder those sorcerers don’t need to go out—” Jenny sensed the surroundings with great interest, discovering that the cave interconnected with more caves, describing the area as vast.
In her detailed sensation, this place seemed like a hidden world beneath the earth.
At that moment, subtle noises came from a distance. Jenny once again merged into the rocks and soil, hiding underground unmoved.
After a few breaths, four sorcerers walked by at a steady pace, heading purposefully to one side.
They were oblivious to the person hiding, continuing outward through the cave and navigating multiple checkpoints, finally arriving at the Ancient Tree Spine campus.
“Dorrey the steward, we’re heading off now.”
“Uh-huh, thanks for your hard work.”
Just back from a mission, all four were visibly fatigued and parted ways after reporting.
Unbeknownst to them, someone had followed them into the campus.
Upon reaching the campus, Jenny stopped following the four and, following her sense of the Pan Iron Roots, took quite some effort to locate a dense material storage area.
Inside the storage, the Pan Iron Roots were concentratedly placed. She counted them briefly; there were more than five hundred, rich in storage.
This brought a bright smile to Jenny’s face.
“There are quite a few of mid to upper quality. I’ll first explore underground and come back for these later.” Thinking that Sorcerer Ivan had just left not long ago, Jenny wasn’t in a hurry to take the Pan Iron Roots since they would eventually be hers anyway.
After a while, she followed the path she had come by and plunged back into the cave.
Weaving her way, Jenny found another encampment at Ancient Tree Spine.
Before the camp was a meticulously arranged defensive barrier, resembling an underground city wall, connecting from top to bottom.
The barriers were engraved with densely packed runes, its protective strength far surpassing the campus’s with an intensely lethal intent that could be sensed even from a distance.
Given Ancient Tree Spine’s high regard for security, this place must undoubtedly conceal Ancient Tree Spine’s greatest secret.