"This is leaf tea from an Ancient Life Tree at the center of the Star Soul Forest. Your Highness, Holy Son, please try it."
Half an hour had passed since Wu Ling's sword debate with Vane Ash. Afterward, Vane Ash returned to his residence to digest what he had gained, while Wu Ling followed Alistair Jewel into a room that resembled an office. Alistair Jewel personally brewed tea and placed it before him.
Listening to Alistair Jewel's introduction, Wu Ling smiled inwardly.
At the current point in the timeline, what Alistair Jewel called the center of the Star Soul Forest should only be the outer edge of the central zone where the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape lived. If it were the true center, even Vane Ash and Lucius Grimm together might not make it back alive, let alone bring out Ancient Life Tree leaves to use as tea.
The Ancient Life Tree held a position among plant-type Soul Beasts comparable to a weakened Three-Eyed Golden Lion. It could develop intelligence at ten thousand years and could even increase the cultivation speed of surrounding plant-type Soul Beasts. Even a hundred-year Ancient Life Tree, once discovered, might be sheltered under the Myriad Demon King's shadow and protected as it grew. Unless, of course, this was merely a ten-year sapling.
Wu Ling took an interested sip. When that first mouthful entered his throat, his hand paused slightly. Then he set the teacup down without changing expression.
"Forget a ten-year Ancient Life Tree sapling. This is probably just an ordinary old tree near the false Lake of Life.
"Still, although it has no nourishing effect, the flavor really is good.
"That makes sense. If it had no special quality at all, Alistair Jewel would never have brought it out."
After leisurely drinking a few more sips of tea, Wu Ling made a decision.
"Forget it. Let us settle this quickly."
Since there was nothing especially interesting left in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Wu Ling decided to move straight to business. He had no intention of spending several boring days here the way he had in the Star Stripe Empire.
That time had been an accident. If he had not happened to run into Blair Lockehart, Wu Ling probably would have left the next day. At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Cecilia Jewel clearly could not be seen, and nothing else drew his interest.
"Sect Master Jewel, it is getting late. Let us speak directly about the matter at hand."
Alistair Jewel paused slightly at Wu Ling's directness, then smiled.
"I have long heard that Your Highness acts with decisive speed. Seeing it today, your reputation is deserved. Since that is what Your Highness wishes, let us begin."
After that, the two discussed the price and quantity of Spirit Elite-level Soulcraft tools, as well as the Spirit Meister-level Soulcraft tools Alistair Jewel had somehow learned about. In only a short while, the deal was set.
That was right. A transaction this important took only a short while.
One reason was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had deep pockets. As long as the price was not absurd, they could accept it. The other reason was that Wu Ling did not inflate the price too heavily. His primary goal was to promote Soulcraft tools further.
As for strengthening an enemy, sorry, but when the time came, Wu Ling would show this world the power of one-button signal shutdown.
Every Soulcraft tool, including the ones sold in the Soulcraft stores, contained a special internal component. Once that component encountered a particular wavelength, it would activate and cut off the tool's Spirit Power transmission.
Wu Ling had also asked Rose to design another special component and wavelength. When the two came into contact, they would trigger a terrifying explosion. A Spirit Elite-level Soulcraft tool could even erupt with Spirit Meister-level force.
If someone tried to use Soulcraft tools against Spirit Hall, Wu Ling did not mind giving them a surprise.
As for what would happen after that ability was exposed, if someone had already been forced into open battle with Spirit Hall, then Spirit Hall would not be far from unification. Once unification arrived, aside from a small number of people, who would still care about that issue?
Besides, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was different from the Star Stripe Empire. The Star Stripe Empire's tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of soldiers could create qualitative change through sheer quantity. But the number of people in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was limited. Even after adding other support-type Spirit Masters, they still did not amount to half the number of combat-type Spirit Masters in the sect.
Because of that, even selling a large batch of Soulcraft tools to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would not cause their strength to leap qualitatively.
"Hahaha, Your Highness, then allow me to congratulate us on the success of our first transaction. If Your Highness develops stronger Soulcraft tools in the future, please be sure to take care of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as well."
After Alistair Jewel spoke, he clapped his hands. A servant who had been waiting outside entered with a tray carrying two glasses of red wine and presented them to Alistair Jewel and Wu Ling.
Alistair Jewel and Wu Ling each took a glass. Alistair Jewel lightly touched his glass against Wu Ling's.
"Your Highness, Holy Son, I will drink first as a gesture of respect."
After speaking, Alistair Jewel tilted his head back and drained the wine in one breath.
Wu Ling swirled his glass and glanced at Alistair Jewel's exposed throat. He was confident that even with Lucius Grimm watching from the side, he could kill Alistair Jewel in one move.
But that would not be fun.
So Wu Ling also drank the wine in one swallow.
After setting the empty glass back on the tray for the servant to take away, Wu Ling suddenly said, "Sect Master Jewel, since we have met so late yet get along so well, how about I introduce you to something?"
Alistair Jewel, who had still been thinking of how to continue the conversation, instantly guessed that Wu Ling might be about to bring out something hidden at the bottom of his chest. After all, he had even used the phrase "met so late."
Alistair Jewel did not know why Wu Ling had suddenly decided this, but even if he did not want the thing, understanding it would cost nothing. So he followed Wu Ling's words.
"Oh? Something Your Highness treats so solemnly must be extraordinary. Fengzhi will wait and see."
Lucius Grimm, standing behind Alistair Jewel, also showed a trace of curiosity. But when he looked toward Yue Guan and Ghost, he was surprised to find that both of them looked slightly bewildered as well.
Although Alistair Jewel had been watching Wu Ling, part of his attention had also been on the two Titled Sages. From their expressions, even they did not know what Wu Ling was about to mention. That made him even more interested.
Seeing that he had successfully drawn Alistair Jewel's curiosity, Wu Ling did not drag things out. In the next second, he flipped his palm, and an object appeared in his hand. Alistair Jewel and the three Titled Sages were immediately drawn to it.
It looked like a belt. Or rather, it was a belt.
If a Blue Star person familiar with Kamen Rider saw it, they would definitely cry out, "Kuuga!"
That was right. It was the Kuuga-style belt Wu Ling had seen with Rose several months earlier. But this one was a finished product, and it was only about eighty percent similar to the original Kuuga belt.
On the main body of the belt were small openings the original did not have, as if they were meant for pouring something inside. There was also a card slot on one side, and on the right side of the belt there was something like a card pouch from a trading-card duel game.
"At first, I called it a transformation device, but now I prefer calling it a Soul Shifter."
Wu Ling bounced the belt lightly in his hand and began introducing it to everyone.
"Soul Shifter..." Alistair Jewel murmured the name, as if trying to guess the object's function from those words.
Wu Ling did not leave Alistair Jewel to guess for long. He turned toward Yue Guan and said, "As the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Rather than explain, I may as well demonstrate. Aunt Yue, please bring Blair Lockehart here for me."