Griffons were creatures he'd only encountered in stories in his previous life, but this was the first time he'd heard of them in this Dead Angle.

If he could get a closer look at these creatures that used spell-like abilities, perhaps he could...

"I'm very interested. So, what is your purpose?" Li Cheng Yi asked directly.

Since the other party had taken the initiative to throw out this bait, they must have a request.

"My purpose is very simple. The younger generation from the nearby territories have formed a youth association, but it doesn't have enough influential figures yet. So, if you could join..." Mina smiled, appearing relaxed but feeling a bit nervous inside.

After all, no matter what, the person in front of her was a real, territorial noble with actual power, someone who commanded troops.

They were different from those who only had a bit of money at home. In fact, they were already from two different social classes.

Whether they could inherit their family titles in the future still depended on passing a series of tests.

"Youth association?" Li Cheng Yi glanced at the few people talking not far away; they were all just kids.

"I'm usually very busy; I probably don't have time to play with you."

"...It... doesn't matter. We don't have much to do on weekdays either." Mina's brow twitched, suppressing a surge of anger and forcing a smile.

"Then, to put it another way, I wonder if you would be willing to sell some books on mage cultivation?"

"Alright, Lord Carlos, my time is limited. I can understand your thirst for and yearning for magic, but I must warn you, do not spy on the realm of mages without permission. That will only bring disaster upon yourself."

The atmosphere grew increasingly lively, but Li Cheng Yi frowned and sat quietly in the corner, sipping his juice.

The man had messy brown hair, deep blue eyes with sunken sockets and faint dark circles. The edges of his robe were marked with flames and hexagrams.

"Can't you make an exception? I am willing to donate one thousand gold coins for your magical research expenses," Li Cheng Yi said earnestly.

In an era where ten gold coins could support an average person's normal life for a month, one thousand gold coins was no small sum. It was a significant amount even to him, even to Konovin.

"These tools require a mage to use. Even if you get them, they'll be useless," Konovin said, clearly becoming impatient.

"I'm sorry, it's not about the money. It's because if I accept the money and can't deliver, it would be unfair to you. I don't want to make enemies for no reason," Konovin replied.

Mage!

Li Cheng Yi immediately stood up.

Li Cheng Yi fell silent.

That was the only mage supported by the Tisilan territory—Konovin Casa.

"Alright," Li Cheng Yi nodded slightly, glancing around the hall.

The butler led them together to a side hall, letting them talk on their own.

He nodded to Mina, brushed past her, and walked straight towards the mage.

"Just need to lend my name?" Li Cheng Yi asked.

He paused, his mind racing.

"I'm sorry, firstly, I don't have detection tools. Secondly, aptitude is fixed. It's determined from birth and cannot be changed. So, I'm afraid I can't help you," Konovin shrugged.

"According to noble law, you should have undergone aptitude and bloodline testing when you were three years old. So whether you have the aptitude has already been determined," the middle-aged mage replied flatly.

Just then, a group of people came down from the second floor. The butler of the Tisilan viscount accompanied a bearded man in a blue robe, calmly descending the stairs.

And there were clearly many others with the same goal as him.

Most of the empire's mages also had territories. His territory was no smaller than Okra's, so there was no special treatment in his attitude.

Although she wasn't particularly pretty, she could barely be considered cute with all the makeup.

Li Cheng Yi stayed where he was, watching the mage's relatives come forward to talk before he stood up and bowed slightly to the mage.

"Secretly collecting and buying mage cultivation books is a serious violation of imperial law. In severe cases, you may be labeled a heretic by the Imperial Mage Association and be subjected to military suppression."

Several other nobles also stood up and walked towards the mage.

"Yes..." Mina replied, feeling the veins on her forehead throbbing even more.

"Please stop thinking like that!" Suddenly, Konovin's originally indifferent expression turned serious, and his voice rose sharply.

Li Cheng Yi asked again.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Mages hold a very high position in the empire. To be precise, the entire Sola Empire owes its strength and status mainly to the mages.

"In that case, I wonder if Master Konovin could sell me some small things and tools used by mages. The price is negotiable."

He left a final sentence and turned to leave the side hall, saying nothing more.

Li Cheng Yi's heart tightened. Even studying on his own was not allowed.

It seemed this was a way for the upper echelons of the empire to maintain and seal off their position.

The salon quickly reached its climax. The viscount personally gave a speech, and his two daughters, twin sisters, appeared together. Their identical appearances and outfits immediately drew everyone's praise.

"Respected Mage Konovin, I am Carlos from Okra territory," Li Cheng Yi introduced himself. "I have come to see you to ask you to test whether I can become a mage."

When it was his turn to step forward, the mage's attitude became slightly more formal, after all, he was a territorial noble with real power. Although only a baron, and the territory was not large.

"Can't you test me again?" Li Cheng Yi asked.

Seeing this mage was his real main purpose for this trip.

Because the founding emperor of the empire was a powerful mage noble.

The plan failed.

He hadn't expected the mages to be so strict in sealing off their knowledge, not even allowing him to study in secret.

It seemed the previous actions needed to be slightly modified.

He pondered how to arrange future actions. The income from the three-town barony was still enough for now, but it could barely support his daily book purchases.

If he wanted more spending on mage-related matters, it would be far from enough.

So he still needed to increase his income.

Also, because things related to mages were not allowed to be bought and sold privately, he still needed to find a sufficiently concealed channel.

Swirling the ruby-like juice in his hand, Li Cheng Yi pondered quietly.

Suddenly, a burst of cheers came from outside the hall, mixed with the clash of weapons.

He came back to his senses and found that there were not many people left in the hall.

Those attending were all nobles and their families from nearby territories. Among them, apart from his handsome face, he was actually inconspicuous.

Because Okra territory was not strong among the surrounding territories, and even considered weak.

So no one took the initiative to befriend him. The adults thought he was too young to lower themselves, and the younger ones thought he was a baron, with too high a threshold.

Li Cheng Yi stood up and followed everyone out of the hall. Anyway, he had decided to come just to make up the numbers, so he mingled in the crowd, watching two nobles fighting with weapons on the lawn outside.

They were two unfamiliar noble youths, and their fights were well-organized, showing a good grasp of technique.

Under the applause of the two viscount's daughters, the two youths became more and more like strutting roosters, constantly fighting back and forth.

Soon, one of the youths was struck on the shoulder by a slash and staggered to the ground, losing.

He looked dejected.

"Babitt wins! The ultimate winner will be able to make a request within their capabilities to the viscount! Is there anyone else who wants to challenge him!" A guard shouted loudly.

Soon, another noble youth went up, but was easily defeated in a few sword strokes.

This youth named Babitt was burly and strong, and shouted triumphantly as he raised his sword.

Li Cheng Yi stood by and watched one noble youth after another go up, trying to defeat him, but they were all defeated, either quickly or after prolonging the fight.

Babitt's swordsmanship was not exquisite, but his strength was great, and his stamina was long, relying on his physique to win seven or eight matches.

Towards the end, the surrounding people were completely silent.

"Is this all the strength the eastern knights have?" Babitt was getting arrogant. Seeing no one stepping forward, he flourished his sword, a conceited and arrogant smile on his face.

"I only came from the royal capital to visit my cousin Alice and try out the strength of the younger generation here. Now it seems, they all seem to be lacking a bit."

His words were subtle, but they immediately made the surrounding people frown slightly.

Some people looked at the Tisilan viscount and found that he also looked a little unhappy.

Clearly, this was not part of his arrangement.

"This Babitt is a disciple of a noble envoy from the royal capital this time. It seems the royal family has some opinions on the eastern region and has some internal disagreements with the viscount..." Mina quietly approached Li Cheng Yi from behind, whispering.

"This is deliberately embarrassing the viscount," she whispered.

"So what? What does it have to do with me?" Li Cheng Yi said indifferently. He wasn't interested in these things.

Human struggles were far less important in his eyes than seeking knowledge to ignite the divine fire. As long as they didn't interfere with him, it was fine.

"Relationship? Didn't you agree to join the youth association? Why don't you go up?" Mina encouraged in a low voice.

"Not interested," Li Cheng Yi refused.

He wasn't afraid of trouble, but he didn't like it.

Mina wanted to say something more, but soon, Jean, the youth from the youth association who had wanted to challenge Li Cheng Yi before, rushed out in one step.

"I'll do it!" Jean shouted angrily as he carried his single-edged sword, holding a shield in one hand, wearing light leather armor, and charged at Babitt with a sword aimed at his head.

Clang!

The two blocked each other.

Then one kicked and the other smashed with the shield.

Another muffled sound, and the two separated.

In the blink of an eye, the two changed moves in succession, exchanging more than a dozen blows, evenly matched.

But this was only on the surface. In reality, Jean's strength and physique were far inferior to his opponent's. It was only because his opponent had fought so many matches and was extremely exhausted that he could barely contend with him.

Fighting like this, he also realized the problem, and the color on his face grew more and more intense.

Ah!!

With a sudden roar, Jean jumped, held his shield in front of him, and stabbed down with his sword.

This move was his trump card, a killing move from the Tangta swordsmanship school - Jumping Shield Thrust.

Unfortunately, his killing move was foreseen by the other party, who easily avoided it with a roll.

Bang.

Jean, unable to dodge after landing, was kicked over from the side by Babitt, and before he could get up, it was too late.

His neck was caught and trapped by a double-edged sword, and he was immediately unable to move.

"Winner, Babitt!" The referee soldier shouted again.

The faces of the surrounding people changed slightly.

Fighting to this point, continuing would actually be meaningless. Babitt had fought so many matches in a row, even if someone came along later and won, the face of the eastern territories would already be lost.

"Is there anyone else?" Babitt roared, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his eyes looking down on everyone.

"Is there anyone else?" The Tisilan viscount couldn't sit still either. He didn't want Babitt to make a request to him.

Whether it was for his face or the interests of the eastern territories.

But all the young elites of the east were here, and none of them could suppress him.

No one said anything.

The surrounding torches burned continuously, crackling, and the nobles watching the show were silent, the smiles on their faces gradually disappearing, replaced by frowns.

Seeing that no one dared to speak up, the arrogance on Babitt's face became even more obvious.

"Looks like I won."

The competition was over.

Babitt successfully obtained the right to make a request to the viscount. This made everyone's face look very bad.

Li Cheng Yi finished watching the show and left in a carriage.

Just as the carriage was driving onto the road, an angry shout came from behind.

"Carlos!"

A fast horse quickly approached and stopped sharply on the side of the carriage, displaying the knight's high level of horsemanship.

Sitting on the horse was Jean, his face still flushed, his eyes staring at Li Cheng Yi inside the carriage.

"Why didn't you go up? Why did you let Babitt be so arrogant?!"

"...I don't like meaningless struggles," Li Cheng Yi replied casually, not even looking up, still flipping through the book in his hand.

Although it was about insect breeding, he needed to absorb all types of knowledge if he wanted to ignite the divine fire.

Anyone who hindered him from igniting the divine fire was his enemy. Anyone who was unrelated to him igniting the divine fire was a passerby.

This was the principle he had set for himself.

Protect himself, don't cause trouble, avoid danger, strengthen himself - this was the core of his determined actions.

After all, he hadn't forgotten that he had been forcibly pulled into this Dead Angle.

Until now, he hadn't encountered any truly life-threatening danger.

So he had reason to believe that there were huge crises and dangers lurking, waiting for him.

"Are you even from the east?!" Jean became even more angry.

"What if I am? What if I'm not?" Li Cheng Yi replied.

"You!!" Jean was speechless. The other party didn't even care about being from the east. What could he say?

In his opinion, Li Cheng Yi should at least be about as strong as him, but he wasn't willing to stand up and unite against the outside, and this was a betrayal of the east!

But now...

Jean sat on the horse, his angry chest rising and falling, and could only watch the carriage quietly drive away.

(End of Chapter)