Chapter 140: Chapter 99: Just a Small Bet, Thanks to You (Part 2)

The Gu Family owned numerous gemstone mines, so their clan members could purchase gemstones at cost—a significant discount compared to market prices.

’She could get the gemstones on the list for forty or fifty Magic Stone Coins at most. That wasn’t a lot of money.’ With this in mind, Gu Lin readily agreed.

"Fine. I’ll help you gather the gemstones on the list, but you can’t bring this up with me again."

"Of course," Pei Ze said with a smile.

...

「In the apartment.」

The moment he stepped through the door, Pei Ze heard a familiar squeak. A small, cyan figure immediately zipped toward him and threw itself into his arms.

"YIYI!!"

Xiaoyi looked up at him, her eyes misty with tears, as if accusing Pei Ze of the heinous crime of leaving her home alone for three whole days.

"There, there. I’m back now, aren’t I?"

Pei Ze chuckled and took out some nectar, dangling it in front of Xiaoyi.

The trick worked like a charm every time. The little one’s attention was immediately captured by the nectar. She hugged the bottle and scurried to one side to drink it contentedly.

Pei Ze shook his head with a helpless laugh. He walked over to the living room, sat down, and began to take stock of the spoils he’d acquired in the labyrinth.

The most valuable prize was Meng Wei’s dimensional bag.

As the prodigy of the Meng Family’s younger generation, Meng Wei had been exceptionally wealthy.

In addition to a large number of potions and materials, there were also quite a few Magic Items.

Although most were Alchemical-grade, with only four or five being Glimmer-grade, it was still an impressive haul.

’I could get a lot of money for these,’ a smile touched Pei Ze’s lips.

Beyond that, there were also numerous books.

However, after a careful inventory, Pei Ze was somewhat disappointed.

The vast majority of these books were related to bloodlines. Even the magic models were for special spells that only someone with the Frost Disaster Silver Wolf bloodline could cast.

Although he could probably master them after modifying them with the Eye of Omniscience, Pei Ze had no intention of wasting his effort.

’There are thousands upon thousands of spells out there; no need to waste energy on these bloodline-specific ones.’

A few books on ancient biology did pique his interest, though. He planned to scan them later when he had a free moment; it was always good to broaden his knowledge.

After finishing his inventory, Pei Ze’s thoughts turned to the earlier events of the day.

’Even though I couldn’t get the Substitute Spirit, obtaining four standard units of Li Xin Water isn’t bad at all.’

Including the one his teacher had given him, he now had five standard units of Li Xin Water, which was more than enough.

Now, all he was missing was the Substitute Spirit.

However, to obtain the Substitute Spirit, he had to win the competition against Red Lotus City.

He was extremely confident in his own abilities, but Pei Ze couldn’t guarantee a victory.

The world of Wizards was treacherous and mysterious, filled with all sorts of strange and unpredictable methods. Who knew what kind of tricks and trump cards his opponents might have?

This was precisely why Pei Ze had insisted on acquiring the Li Xin Water first.

That way, even if he lost, he would at least walk away with the Li Xin Water and not end up empty-handed.

’Still, I need to prepare for the competition seriously.’

’I have to improve my strength as much as possible over the next twenty days.’

Pei Ze pondered for a moment before quickly coming to a decision.

"Omniscience, pause Magic modification and begin modifying the Elemental Runes."

[Task created. Beginning modification of Elemental Runes. Estimated time required: 572 days.]

There were three methods that could provide an immediate and significant boost to his power.

The first was to enhance the power of his Elemental Runes.

The practicality of the Elemental Runes had been proven over the last three days of combat.

If he could modify them to allow for stacking, or develop even more techniques, their utility and power would surely reach a new level.

’572 days... If I use my full acceleration, it should take a little over eight days.’

Pei Ze nodded to himself.

The second method was Magic Tattoos.

The analysis for the Flash Magic Tattoo was already complete. He just needed to gather the materials to inscribe it.

With the Flash Magic Tattoo, his combat survivability would undoubtedly increase dramatically.

’Besides Flash, I should prepare an offensive Magic Tattoo as well.’

"Omniscience, analyze the Thunder Burst Magic Tattoo."

[Task created. Beginning analysis of Thunder Burst Magic Tattoo. Estimated time required: 166 days.]

The final method was Metamagic Techniques.

Pei Ze knew from personal experience how much Metamagic Techniques could boost one’s combat effectiveness.

Although Silent Casting was known as the weakest Metamagic Technique, it was precisely this skill that had allowed Pei Ze to gain the upper hand multiple times in battles against powerful foes.

If even Silent Casting was so effective, there was no need to even mention the more powerful Metamagic Techniques. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Pei Ze had previously attempted to analyze Instant Casting, but the required time was too long, forcing him to give up.

But now, with his greatly increased Spiritual Power, the time required to analyze Instant Casting should be significantly reduced.

"Omniscience, analyze the Instant Casting technique."

[Task created. Beginning analysis of Instant Casting technique. Estimated time required: 223 days.]

Pei Ze breathed a sigh of relief. The time frame was still within an acceptable range.

He estimated that completing all three tasks would only take about thirteen to fourteen days. Afterward, he could analyze a few more Elemental Runes or Magic Tattoos, or even master another Metamagic Technique.

’As for my remaining 2,200 merit points...’

Pei Ze’s expression grew thoughtful.

2,200 merit points were enough to exchange for one chance to enter the Realm of Truth.

However, after careful consideration, Pei Ze abandoned the idea.

As his power increased, the returns he got from the Realm of Truth were diminishing.

He had already entered the Realm of Truth twice, and a third visit would likely only yield a little over three hundred units of the Power of Rules.

The effect would only be equivalent to five or six days of his full-power acceleration—not a significant benefit.

Rather than spending the majority of his merit points on entry to the Realm of Truth, it would be better to trade them for the rare metals he needed to configure the metal alloy for Silver Star’s fusion.

’2,200 merit points should be enough to trade for three or four standard units of the metal alloy.’

Pei Ze quickly made his decision.

He would exchange them for rare metals!

In his battle against Meng Wei, Silver Star’s power had been on full display.

Even after activating his Bloodline Mark and experiencing a massive surge in power, Meng Wei had been crushed by Silver Star with ease. This was proof enough of the power of a top-tier Tier One Witchcraft Artifact!

The stronger Silver Star became and the longer he could wield it, the greater the boost to Pei Ze’s own power.

More importantly, based on the masked Wizard’s advice to Xiao Xi and Su Shouhai earlier, he could guess that in the competition twenty days from now, it was almost certain that every other Wizard Apprentice would be equipped with a Tier One Witchcraft Artifact.

When everyone had a witchcraft artifact, the competition would come down to whose was more powerful.

Therefore, before the competition, it was best to have Silver Star fuse with as many metal alloys as possible.

’After absorbing four more standard units of the metal alloy, Silver Star’s usage time should extend to seven or eight minutes.’

Pei Ze’s spirits lifted.

With the exception of a few evil witchcraft artifacts that consumed one’s lifespan, no other Wizard Apprentice should be able to wield their artifact for longer than he could.

Snapping out of his happy thoughts, Pei Ze immediately took out the Communication Crystal and activated it.

The crystal suddenly flared to life. Countless rays of light streamed out from it, weaving together above to form a screen of light.

Pei Ze studied it for a few moments before trying to write the name "Silver Dragon Tungsten Iron" on it.

In response, a line of text quickly appeared: "Please specify the quantity you wish to exchange for."

And as Pei Ze entered the quantity, the corresponding merit point price actually appeared next to it.

’Feels kind of like using a computer.’

Pei Ze clicked his tongue in amazement. He raised his hand and began writing on the light screen, quickly listing the types and quantities of the rare metals he wanted to exchange for.

He used up every last one of his 2,200 merit points.

The amount of metal he purchased was enough for four standard unit alloys, with a little to spare.

Once he finished writing, Pei Ze selected the option to transmit the message.

’Now, I just have to wait for everything to be delivered.’

Putting away the Communication Crystal, Pei Ze wasted no time and began practicing the All-Knowing Breathing Technique.

Having learned his lesson from the novice trials, he had mostly avoided practicing the All-Knowing Breathing Technique while in the labyrinth, lest the resulting phenomenon attract unwanted attention.

Now that he finally had some breathing room, he naturally had to seize the opportunity to practice.

’At my current rate, I should be able to raise my constitution attribute to one hundred in another four or five days.’

’After that, I can try to awaken my Elemental Power.’

Pei Ze greatly looked forward to seeing how his body would change after he broke through to become a Legendary Knight and mastered Elemental Power.