Near Descending Clouds City, in a certain mountain valley.
That day, Jenny returned home with a full load and reported the situation of her mission to Ivan first thing, emphasizing what she had seen and heard underground.
“That’s the way it is. Whether the elder Tree folk’s words are true or false, I have no way of knowing.”
“It’s very likely true. It has no reason to fool you, right? Another possibility is that its own understanding is mistaken.”
After listening to Jenny’s account, Ivan fell silent for a moment. He, too, knew nothing about the underground, and could only analyze various possibilities from the sidelines.
However, just mentioning the Root of the Earth and the Son of the Sun was enough to provoke a strong desire to explore.
“We’ll have another look if we get the chance.” Jenny didn’t take it to heart.
“No problem,” Ivan nodded, then, thinking of something, he asked, “By the way, you didn’t clean out the entire stash at the Ancient Tree Spine, did you?”
“Of course not. I only chose some upper-class quality ones. The rest I didn’t even care for; I left those for them to cultivate slowly.”
With a casual wave of her hand, a large number of Pan Iron Roots flew out from Jenny’s sleeve—fifty or sixty of them, clearly carefully selected, with quality obviously higher than the previous thirty.
Ivan glanced at them and said nothing.
Such were the rules of this world. If the Ancient Tree Spine couldn’t stop Jenny’s infiltration, there was nothing more to be said.
Time passed day by day. The Scented Butterfly was still in transformation, while the Silkworm Queen had already completed a step ahead in strength enhancement, reaching the peak of Level 3 without any surprises, on a level comparable to that of the swamp ants.
At the same time, an unexpected visitor arrived in the valley.
“Ivan, it’s really not easy to get a chance to see you,” the visitor said with a smile on his face as he looked at him.
“Sorcerer Solomon?” Ivan could tell this wasn’t Solomon, but it bore a resemblance to Solomon’s face by seven to eight points; it was undoubtedly his Secret Method Body Double.
As soon as this body double approached, even the surrounding air became scorching, indicating an extraordinary foundation.
“It’s me, indeed. As for him, you may address him as ‘Pidel,’ and for now, I, Solomon, will speak with you through him,” the body double said, its blonde hair especially ethereal.
Recalling what Chairman Narnya had said the last time, a thought struck Ivan, and he invited Solomon into the house.
“Ivan, you had a good harvest in the Red Cloud Realm, didn’t you? I heard that the sorcerers who came could hardly find a place to stay.”
“That’s true, otherwise I wouldn’t have to be dwelling temporarily in the wilds. Speaking of which, it’s your fault. You created the Disguise Potion, and now it’s out of control.”
“Ha ha, you can’t blame me for this one. You should blame Sorcerer Doug.”
That wasn’t entirely false. Star Moon Academy did put in a lot of effort and made a good deal of magic stones. However, it shouldn’t have anything directly to do with Doug; surely, he wouldn’t be interested in these meager gains.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Solomon finally addressed the matter at hand, his expression turning serious.
“Sorcerer Ivan, I need your help with something. Once it’s accomplished, the favor you owe me will be considered repaid.”
“The time, the place, what do you need me to do?”
Unexpectedly, the situation wasn’t as the Chairman had mentioned. Ivan paused momentarily, followed Solomon’s direction in asking, and clearly expressed a willingness to agree.
It’s likely the Chairman didn’t know about the favor he owed Solomon.
“The time is six months from now, the location is outside the southwestern checkpoint, adjacent to the territory of the Lei tribe, in a high-energy battlefield. I need your and Doug’s assistance to seize an item. Sorcerer Doug has already agreed; what do you think?” Solomon briefly stated the essentials of the matter.
“I will be there on time.” Not willing to remain indebted, Ivan did not refuse.
“It’s a deal,” Solomon knew he would not refuse.
After discussing official matters, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed.
“Sorcerer Solomon, do you know of a place called ‘Pengdala City’, which has an Insect Control Master organization also located in the southwest?” Ivan took the opportunity to ask about another matter.
In fact, he had already contacted Elder Mendenez earlier to ask for help in gathering information.
“I only know that it’s a remote small city. It’s said to have a loose sorcerer power called the ‘Black God Society,’ whose wizards act quite discreetly. I haven’t paid much attention to it,” Solomon pondered and said.
The Black God Society?
Ivan had not heard of it, but by the name, it might be related to the “Black Beard Chapter.”
“I’m more familiar with that area. I’ll find someone to inquire about it for you later,” seeing him deep in thought, Solomon directly offered to help.
“Okay, and please tell me the specific location of Pengdala City,” Ivan did not decline.
Not long after, Solomon hurriedly left the valley. It was clear that he had been quite busy lately; even the invitation could only be handled by his secret method body double.
Ivan was left alone in the room.
He pondered for a while, then called Locke over.
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“Boss, you wanted to see me?”
“I have an important task for you. Go to Pengdala City in the southern region for me first. Check out the situation there, see if you can contact Randall, or gather information about a force named ‘Black God Society’—”
Pengdala City was far away; knowing the location made Ivan somewhat impatient, and he decided to send Locke ahead to scout for him.
Up to now, the possibility that Randall truly immersed himself in research and forgot to contact others could not be ruled out.
“No problem, I’ll definitely find Sorcerer Randall,” Locke agreed readily upon hearing the task.
“Don’t act recklessly there, I will come over with Jenny later,” Ivan warned him with a stern look and sent him off with a wave of his hand.
In any case, Ivan had to visit the southwest of the Chanay Continent. It was simpler to first look for Randall, and then deal with Solomon after resolving the situation.
However, it wasn’t easy for any creature to undergo a level 3 mystical transformation, not even the Scented Butterfly, and Ivan needed to continue taking care of it for the time being.
…
In the material vault within Ancient Tree Spine.
At that moment, two deans were staring at a corner of the room, their faces turning rather dark. It was outrageous that their academy’s secret vault had been stolen from, and they didn’t even know when it had been breached.
“It’s unconscionable! I will hold him accountable,” Lai Te shouted in anger, turning around to leave.
“Where are you going, do you know who it was?” Adolf, with speed that belied his appearance, reached out and grabbed Lai Te.
“Besides Ivan Marichadon, who else? Who else needs such a large supply of Pan Iron Root?” Lai Te asserted loudly.
“You have no proof. What evidence do you have? If he denies it, what can you do? You can’t just accuse him of stealing from the vault and make him out to be a thief,” Adolf said with a wry smile.
Hearing him, Lai Te was relatively speechless.
“Look around this vault once more. There’s not a single trace of damage, only a portion of the Pan Iron Root is missing; whoever it was has already shown mercy.”
“We can’t just let this go, can we?”
“Listen to me, if he could enter here silently, any other place in Ancient Tree Spine can’t be avoided either. Are you sure you want to keep provoking this person?”
Indeed, the idea of someone infiltrating the academy without a trace and stealing from the vault was both shocking and enraging, as well as frightening and worrisome.
After extensive discussions, the deans decided to swallow this bitter loss, considering it an ill-fated expense to avert disaster.