Chapter 41: Fortress
Chapter 41: Fortress
Li Yi didn’t overthink it. He turned off the Voice-Transmission Array and began pondering.
The Star Element was the fiercest and most ferocious among all Elemental Life, surpassing even Fire Elementals and Lightning Elementals. Similarly, its lowest form, the Starlight Servant, also outclassed Earth Servants, Flame Servants, and the like.
Using the “Elemental Wraith” as a template to modify the “Starfield Summoning” was a bit like drawing a gourd from its shape. Moreover, Li Yi already had experience in deriving spells. After a night of calculations, the difficulty wasn’t too great.
However, Starfield Summoning was different from Elemental Summoning. It used stellar power to coalesce the summoned body.
Inside the Star Radiance Tower, stellar power was abundant. But outside Dawn Cliff, especially during the day, it became a bit tricky.
“Three tubes of Starlight Liquid for three uses. Summoning a Starlight Wraith could serve as a trump card, catching enemies off guard! Under normal circumstances, a Flame Wraith and an Earth Wraith would be sufficient…”
Li Yi pondered for a moment and began his calculations.
Before long, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door.
“Is the Starlight Liquid ready?”
Wang Sheng entered carrying large and small bags, his face beaming with excitement. He seemed full of things to say, so Li Yi quickly struck first.
“Of course! What do you take me for?”
Wang Sheng grumbled, untied a small pouch from his waist, and handed it over.
Opening it, Li Yi saw three tubes of golden liquid glowing brilliantly. Inside, countless specks of starlight drifted freely, unfathomable like a Heavenly Secret.
As Li Yi examined them, Wang Sheng’s big face leaned in close.
“Do you know how much I earned yesterday?” he whispered mysteriously.
“Fifty gold coins?” Not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm, Li Yi casually played along.
“You’re underestimating me! A full two hundred gold coins!” Wang Sheng announced the good news like a lucky bird, waving his hands excitedly. “You said this script was a slow burn, and you were right! The first few days were sparse, but these last two days, the occupancy rate has reached fifty percent! And almost every single person is a repeat customer, with constant praise!”
“Two hundred gold coins?”
Li Yi was startled. Although he knew this method could generate wealth, it was still a new venture that needed time to spread. He hadn’t expected the progress to far exceed his predictions.
A thought occurred to him. Since this was the case, many of his planned strategies needed adjustment…
“Only two hundred gold coins, and your eyes are already dazzled? Look at your lack of ambition!” Li Yi scolded with a laugh, then said seriously, “How much liquid funds do you have on hand? First, expand the theater by double!”
“Expand by double?” The chubby man looked pained and reluctant. “How much would that cost? Besides, the occupancy rate has just passed fifty percent… Isn’t it too early?”
“Prepare for rain before it gets wet. It’s definitely not too early!” Li Yi knew he had to be forceful, his tone decisive. “With a bit of advertising and marketing, it wouldn’t be difficult to double the occupancy rate again.”
“Advertising? Marketing?” The chubby man scratched his head.
“Here’s how,” Li Yi said, his fingers dancing playfully with the tube of Starlight Liquid. “Hire a few storytellers to repeatedly recount the already-aired plot of ‘The Mortal’s Path of Demonic Cultivation’ in various major taverns. At the end of each telling, have them say, ‘To hear what happens next, go to…’ What was the name of your place again?”
“Land of Light and Shadow!”
“Land of Light and Shadow… That name actually has some flavor to it…” Li Yi stroked his chin, where faint stubble was emerging. “Hmm, also, find a few scantily clad beauties to carry around magic projections, walking back and forth in crowded areas. Remember, the magic projections must be the most eye-catching ones, and they must clearly display the address of the Land of Light and Shadow.”
“This method… Tsk tsk, it’s absolutely brilliant! I’ll do it right away!”
The chubby man was stingy, but he wasn’t foolish. On the contrary, he was smart. Just hearing Li Yi explain it calmly, he knew it had great potential and made a prompt decision.
“Good. Go back and start preparing!”
After discussing some more details with him—such as the layout of the Land of Light and Shadow, snack vendors, luxury boxes—once the discussion was finished, Li Yi clapped his hands and gave the order to leave.
Wang Sheng hesitated for a moment but did not leave immediately.
“Li Yi, your chance of becoming a Direct Disciple is already very slim. Why bother competing?” the chubby man said cautiously, trying to dissuade him. “Right now, our enterprise is just beginning to flourish. If we focus on managing it diligently, the money we earn won’t be insignificant either…”
“For what? Perhaps, just to prove a point.” Li Yi’s expression grew somewhat distant. After a moment of thought, his voice turned resolute. “Are children from noble families necessarily outstanding? Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats’ offspring can only dig holes? I, Li Yi, simply don’t believe in that set!”
Seeing the look on Li Yi’s face, Wang Sheng was moved. Many buried emotions surfaced from his memory—countless nights with his head buried in a pillow, weeping silently.
“Enough, enough! Laozi will take a loss on business today!” His face turned fierce. He gritted his teeth and took a large bundle from his back. “This thing, I’m lending it to you! Let’s be clear, I’m lending it, not giving it! I’m taking a loss here, a huge loss!”
“What is it?” Li Yi was curious. Given Wang Sheng’s penny-pinching nature, even squeezing a single gold coin from between his fingers would probably make this fat man wail.
But soon, Li Yi found he had misjudged him.
“This is a ceremonial robe I specially crafted in my youth for the ‘Bloodstained Trial.’ It’s called ‘Storm Fortress.’ Its defensive power can withstand a full-force strike from a High-Rank Spell Apprentice!”
“High-Rank Spell Apprentice?” Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly. He carefully stroked the robe and was immediately amazed.
On the spacious robe, numerous dark blue energy lines crisscrossed and interwove, rising and falling like intersecting grand roads or blooming peonies, dazzling to the eye. Waves of Arcane Energy pulsed and surged with a steady, powerful rhythm, like a heartbeat.
The array was too complex. For a moment, Li Yi couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
He unconsciously reached out to press it. As his finger touched, an invisible barrier spread from his fingertip. It felt flexible yet unbreakable.
“An Air Barrier Array?” Upon touching it, Li Yi finally discerned a clue and pondered. “No, an Air Barrier Array would never be this intricate and complicated! This is… whoa, this is a Layered Array! Let me see, how many layers? One, two… Four layers!”
Li Yi was utterly astonished.
Normally, composite arrays, including Arcane Energy formations, consisted of multiple arrays that complemented each other, each with its own role. For example, the Super Magic Array—”Void Lung”—had dozens of arrays, large and small, tightly interlocked like screws.
But there was another method, known as a daring and unconventional approach: repeatedly stacking the same array to amplify its power. This was called a Layered Array.
The materials required for a Layered Array weren’t particularly harsh, but the demands on the designer were exceptionally high, requiring profound knowledge in array design and massive calculations!
This Air Barrier Array was layered a whole four times. Its defensive strength truly lived up to the name “Storm Fortress.”
Li Yi did a rough calculation. Considering the computational load, a four-layer Layered Array would require half a year of work without eating or drinking!
After a few tsking sounds, his face lit up with joy.
The “Teleportation” spell was of an exceptionally high rank. The mark on the back of his hand wasn’t “Teleportation” but “Array Teleportation.”
Dawn Cliff had an ancient divine teleportation array built into it, and the mark on his hand was the key to that teleportation.
This teleportation had many restrictions: the distance couldn’t be too far, the space had to be stable, and the teleportation time wasn’t short either.
If he encountered a sudden attack or various accidents, it definitely wouldn’t be fast enough.
But with this item, all difficulties would be readily solved.
“Thank you. Now I feel much more confident!”
Li Yi took the robe, turned it inside out so the lining was on the outside, and put it on.
“Young man, can’t you tell the inside from the outside?” the chubby man asked curiously.
“This ceremonial robe ‘Storm Fortress’ has strong defense, but it’s too colorful and garish…” Li Yi rolled his eyes and explained. “Magical beasts’ intelligence is no less than humans’. Wouldn’t wearing this just remind them to bite the neck?”
In his heart, he added: Moreover, the greatest threat might not necessarily come from magical beasts.
“Also, this thing—consider it a gift to you.” The chubby man fumbled behind him for a moment and took out a bracelet. He had a bit of a desire to show off. “Let me demonstrate for you first.”
A faint, ghostly light flowed in a ring on the bracelet.
In an instant, the ground around the chubby man turned into scorched earth. A massive creature, a full eight meters tall, covered in cracks and blazing with Purgatory’s infernal fire, rose in fury behind him. With one roar, it shook the roof!
“Inferno!” Li Yi’s mind trembled. He leaned back, his thoughts momentarily descending into Chaos. “Whoa, your ‘Thousand Illusions Array’ is realistic enough to fool anyone!”
“Of course! My craftsmanship is never wrong!” Wang Sheng said smugly, but he didn’t forget to add a warning. “Remember well: every time you use this ‘Illusion Magic Bracelet,’ it needs to be recharged.”
“Wang Sheng, you have earned my friendship,” Li Yi said, gratitude in his eyes, his expression sincere.
“Absolutely not!” the chubby man waved his hands frantically. “Don’t talk about feelings; it’s too costly for my wallet! Let’s just remain business partners!”
“Alright, business partner!” Li Yi shook his head with a bitter smile.
Tonight was a busy night.
After seeing off the chubby man, two more people arrived one after another.