Chapter 179: Gathering

"That's good, Merlin, you wait here with Solomon, I'll go with Jouyi and confirm with those who agreed yesterday. We will go all-out and make sure that you can enter the Magic Hand!"

"Thank you." Although Osul didn't say anything about making a deal, Lin Yun knew that in order to get him accepted in the Magic Hand, the two elders had definitely put forth a lot of effort. These kind intentions made Lin Yun grateful.

After watching the two of them leave, Lin Yun chatted with Solomon.

Naturally, the topic of discussion was Rudolph's Demiplane.

After returning, Solomon couldn't sleep properly. Those magic books were all the relics of a Heaven Mage! Just casually taking one out would be enough to shock the entire region. But they had now fallen in the hands of the Sage Tower. Solomon could already see the Sage Tower relying on that huge wealth to rise up to the point it could pressure the Ash Tower and unify the entire eastern side.

The allure of such a beautiful future kept Solomon up the entire night. Excitement had been showing on his face all this time, and when he chatted with Lin Yun, his face would sometimes go slack with an inexplicable smile.

"Okay, stop laughing..." This was the third time Lin Yun had stopped Solomon. It wasn't that Lin Yun wanted to spoil the man's fun. It was just that this 9th Rank High Mage didn't know how to be careful. It was fine to be happy, but there was no need to inexplicably burst into laughter at random moments.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh, I won't laugh..." Solomon nodded repeatedly while chuckling.

"Forget it, laugh if you want to laugh..." In fact, even Lin Yun wanted to laugh. This was a masterless Demiplane suddenly falling into his hands, who would not be ecstatic in this situation?

Lin Yun couldn't help rejoicing. Fortunately, he had the Bone Plane's Book of Death. Otherwise, even if he entered an ownerless Demiplane, he still wouldn't be able to take it for himself.

"Hey, Merlin, it looks like someone is looking for you..." While Lin Yun was thinking, Solomon gently nudged him before indicating the center of the Banquet Hall.

"Ah?" Lin Yun looked over and saw Dylan walking over from the distance.

"How could it be Dylan again?" Lin Yun immediately frowned. He just stole a Demiplane from the Ash Tower, so Lin Yun was embarrassed to some extent.

"Mafa Merlin, you are not welcome here. Get the hell out of here immediately." Dylan walked over but didn't even look at Lin Yun. He only pointed at the door of the Banquet Hall as he coldly uttered those words.

"Is the Ash Tower in charge of this gathering?" Lin Yun had a shocked expression on his face.

"No!" Dylan was startled. Everyone knew that this was the Magic Hand's gathering. The Ash Tower was only the host, providing the place and service. The rest wasn't up to the Ash Tower. Dylan was able to enter because of the reputation of his teacher.

Even if Dylan was bold, he wouldn't dare to recognize this gathering as being the Ash Tower's. What would the Magic Hand's people think in that case? Each and every one of these mages was a peak existence of the kingdom, and they all had strong tempers.

'Fuck, that Mafa Merlin is too cunning...' Dylan couldn't help grinding his teeth as he thought, 'You know this is the Magic Hand's gathering, yet you pretend to act stupid in front of me. If I wasn't careful and said that this was the Ash Tower's gathering, then the Magic Hand would definitely make me suffer...'

"Eh? Turns out it's not..." Lin Yun nodded and asked with a strange expression, "Then why are you telling me that I'm not welcome here?"

"You..." Dylan was being played by Lin Yun, and he felt his heart tighten. He took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "That's right, this is the Magic Hand's gathering, but as the host, the Ash Tower has a duty to stop unrelated people from entering this Banquet Hall. You should clearly understand that the only ones able to enter here are the members of the Magic Hand and their disciples. Don't think that just because you know Sir Jouyi, you can casually come in such a place. I'll let you know, Mafa Merlin, there are some places one can't enter as they please."

"Ah?"

"Okay, Mafa Merlin, stop playing dumb, leave immediately or you'll regret it." With those words, Dylan pointed at the door to the Banquet hall once again. Compared to earlier, Dylan seemed even more resolute about it now.

Because Dylan knew that this Mafa Merlin wasn't Jouyi's disciple...

Dylan's teacher was Shadow Ashes. In those years, Dylan followed Shadow Ashes and participated in four Magic Hand gatherings. Dylan was very clear that if a mage of the Magic Hand brought in a disciple, he would definitely introduce his disciple to everyone upon arrival.

And this time, when Jouyi brought Solomon and Mafa Merlin into the Banquet Hall, besides greeting a few of his acquaintances, he didn't bother to introduce Mafa Merlin.

Moreover, Dylan had also investigated this fellow.

The previous night, after that young mage gave him a report, Dylan immediately mobilized the intelligence division of the Ash Tower to check Merlin thoroughly.

The son of the Leader of the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce, quickly rising after his father's death. The Gilded Rose under his control had already become one of the peak forces of Thousand Sails City and he even had the power of a 5th Rank Great Mage. Even if it was still a rumor, he had apparently defeated a 1st Rank High Mage.

To be honest, when Dylan saw that report, he was startled.

This abrupt rise was too frightening.

After Locke Merlin's death, the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce had already gone bankrupt. It could be said that this Mafa Merlin had rebuilt everything from scratch, and in a short year, the Gilded Rose had become a peak force of Thousand Sails City, and he himself had become a 5th Rank Great Mage... And he was only approaching his twenties! There weren't many Great Mages under twenty in the entire kingdom!

'The only good thing is that there doesn't seem to have been much contact between Mafa Merlin and Jouyi.'

It could be seen from the fact that Jouyi had always been in the depths of the Cloud Tower, studying the Fanrusen Formula. In this decade, let alone meeting a young Great Mage from Thousand Sails City, even his Disciple, Solomon, had a hard time meeting Jouyi.

In this case, who had the most contact with Merlin?

This could only be Solomon, who was in the same city...

Seeing all this, Dylan already more or less understood. 'The Sage Tower and the Gilded Rose are among the peak forces of Thousand Sails City. There is most likely some business deal between the two forces, and when Merlin learnt that Solomon's teacher was Jouyi, how could that young Great Mage not be excited? He definitely got greedy...

'And thus, during a deal, he hoped that Solomon would help introduce him. That seems quite reasonable.'

Dylan thought about it and felt that this was the most likely explanation.

After realizing this, everything was simpler...

'Jouyi is participating in the Magic Hand's gathering, and when passing through Thousand Sails City, the young Great Mage got the opportunity to see the legendary Star Sage through Solomon's introduction. He then got a bit greedier and requested Solomon to let him accompany them.

'Unfortunately for him, Solomon doesn't seem to have told this young Great Mage that the Magic Hand's gathering is a very exclusive one.'

Naturally, Dylan could also turn a blind eye if he wanted to. Solomon was also Jouyi's disciple, and if he drove out their acquaintance, Jouyi's temper might flare up.

But the one who brought him was Solomon...

And Solomon was the nemesis of the Ash Tower!

Solomon being able to enter the Ash Tower now was entirely because the Magic Hand gathering was being hosted here. This was like letting Solomon slap the Ash Tower, but now, he finally had an opportunity to return this slap! How could Dylan let this opportunity slip by?

As for Mafa Merlin himself, Dylan didn't put him in his eyes. A 5th Rank Great Mage, no matter how quick his rise was, was still unworthy of a 9th Rank High Mage's attention. The difference in power between the two sides was too great. If Jouyi hadn't appeared, Dylan would only have needed two fingers to easily squash the other side.

And Dylan was settling for just driving Mafa Merlin out.

'Yes, please resist, Merlin, that way I won't have to do anything myself. The more you refuse to leave, the bigger this will blow up! It would be for the best if the entire kingdom gets to know that Solomon of the Sage Tower was an idiot who brought a 5th Rank Great Mage to the Magic Hand's gathering. I bet that by that time, even Jouyi would pretend not to know this disciple.'

Thus, when Dylan appeared, his tone was very rude, but he didn't immediately get physical. He let the other side have a chance to talk. Dylan wanted him to make noise, and the more noise the better.

Sure enough, that young Great Mage didn't disappoint him.

"Haha, High Mage Dylan, I'm very curious. How will I regret it if I don't leave?"

"How?" Dylan was inwardly enduring, unwilling to let his pride show as he cast a glance at Solomon. "That's definitely not something good to talk about. But I'm certain that whoever took you in will have to take responsibility..."

"..." To the side, Solomon was getting a cramp from trying not to laugh. After he had been giggling and laughing since the previous night, it was very exhausting to resist the urge to burst out in laughter now...