End of the Magic Era

George squatted next to the green membrane of light with one hand stuck to it silently. Myers glared at George, and didn't say anything else. He simply approached Lin Yun, and managed a smile.

"Sir Merlin, well, do you have more of that potion—"

"No."

Lin Yun interrupted Myers before he could finish. Myers almost choked. His eyes glittered, and he didn't say anything else. He managed another smile.

"Sir Merlin, I've long heard that you are a great alchemist and one of the best Artisans. Considering your technology of potion making, you are already very close to becoming a Saint Alchemist.

"Could you make another bottle of the potion you just made? Just tell me the price. I will not bargain with you. If you can manufacture the potion, I'll purchase it from you on behalf of the Thorny Crown. We can sign a contract immediately…"

Myers kept a humble posture, and his eyes were turning bloodshot. He was greedy for the potion that could stabilize their unstable bloodlines. It was surprisingly effective on George. It only took three seconds for the potion to kick in. Furthermore, it had been several minutes since he took the potion, and his bloodline didn't boil or cause any trouble…

That effect would definitely make any warlock or mage who had transplanted the bloodline of foreign creatures greedy. They would pay anything for such a potion.

Had it not been for the obvious and unknown dangers outside, and that he couldn't defeat Lin Yun, he wouldn't have begged Lin Yun so humbly.

Even if the potion was an actual piece of sh*t, and did not just smell more disgusting than sewage, those people would gladly swallow it with honey as long as it was effective.

They had transplanted other creatures' bloodlines for power, and turned themselves into something barely like human beings. What thing wouldn't they do?

Now that Myers was begging him humbly, Lin Yun was no longer as angry as before. Looking at the hope and passion on the faces of Myers and other bloodline transplanters, Lin Yun heaved a soft sigh.

"Sir Myers, seriously, I'm not short of money. I can also get anything that I want. This is not a matter of price…

"The main problem is that the potion is very hard to make. Only the peak Artisans are able to make it. Also, the time limit for making is very short. If you exceed the time limit, the attempt will fail.

"Only an alchemist who's beyond a peak Artisan and on the way to becoming a Saint Alchemist, and who's familiar with bloodline transplantation, can possibly make the potion. I succeeded only because of luck.

"On the other hand, the potion isn't as effective as you think. In half an hour to one hour, the effect of the potion will be gone. Also, it is only useful in cases like Sir George's condition. It does not improve your combat ability or help with your research…"

Hearing that, Myers wasn't disappointed at all, nor were the mages around him. All that they needed was the ability of bloodline stabilization. The weaknesses of most mages who had transplanted foreign bloodlines were due to unstable bloodlines.

Even if the potion was only effective for an hour, or half an hour, it would decide whether or not they would survive a battle in critical moments.

No matter how flawed the potion was, it was as valuable to those people as a Heaven Rank potion was to an Archmage.

Lin Yun was trying his best to expound on the flaws of the potion. However, to his surprise, those people weren't disappointed at all despite all the flaws and the smell of the potion. Rather, it only made them want the potion more badly…

Were those people already in such a terrible condition? The bloodline stabilizer potion that he made in such a simple way was only an unsuccessful product. Yet, all of them considered it a powerful potion?

How had those people survived for so long? Did they all have the weakness of an unstable bloodline? Damn it. Their technology was even worse than expected. They were still in the early phase of bloodline transplantation…

Most people of the Thorny Crown who had transplanted foreign bloodlines had surely died because of their bloodlines, right?

Lin Yun regretted not exaggerating the flaws of the potion, even though the potion's effect he described wasn't even 1% as good as the qualified stabilizer potion.

"Sir Merlin, that's fine. The research on anything is always immature at the beginning. Your expertise in bloodline transplantation is far better than mine. Such a powerful potion will definitely be a landmark in the history of bloodline transplantation. It's a great achievement. You're too modest…

"You're probably the only person who can make the potion right now. On behalf of the Thorny Crown, I'd like to purchase a batch of this groundbreaking potion for the price of Heaven Rank potion. What do you think?"

Myers didn't seem bothered at all, and was still trying to obtain the potion from Lin Yun. He even offered the price of a Heaven Rank potion…

Passion and excitement were all over Myers' crystal eyes. His face looked normal, but he had almost broken his own fingers because of excitement…

Was the Heaven Rank potion expensive? One bottle of low-level Heaven Rank potion could be sold for millions of purple gold. However, if he had such a groundbreaking potion, he would be able to continue his research, and the Thorny Crown wouldn't have to hide in the darkness. If the transplanted bloodline remained stable, he and his partners would be able to unleash their maximal combat ability anytime. Then, the Thorny Crown would be able to walk out of the darkness…

It was no big deal to spend some purple gold on such a potion. He was willing to pay any price as long as Mafa Merlin was willing to sign a contract and make deals with him.

If he had obtained such a potion earlier, no mages of the Thorny Crown would've perished due to bloodline instability in battles, and there would've been 100 more Heaven Rank experts in the Thorny Crown…

Myers was trying to convince Lin Yun. The other bloodline transplanters were all looking at them eagerly. Sunny was hiding behind everybody else, and staring at Lin Yun in silence. There was no telling what was on her mind. Sheldon grinned at Lin Yun with a passionate smile, as if he would do something if Lin Yun disagreed.

Myers was hopeful and humble. He was a level-5 Heaven Rank expert, yet he treated Lin Yun with great respect. He was already modest enough…

Lin Yun seemed to be touched, but there was helplessness all over his face.

"Sir Myers, alright, I didn't want to say this at the beginning, but it seems that I have to speak the truth now. The biggest problem about the potion is that I don't have enough materials.

"If I have materials, although it's difficult to make the potion and the success rate is low, I can always try. But I'm out of materials. I used up the last bit of materials that were supposed to be used for research. I wouldn't have used them if it weren't for the emergency. Fortunately, I was quite lucky, and I successfully made the potion…"

Lin Yun seemed to be explaining helplessly, and Myers was dumbfounded.

"You're out of materials? What materials do you need? I've gathered quite a lot of alchemical materials…"

There was surprise and delight on Lin Yun's face, as if he was happy he could study the subject again.

"Oh? That would be so great. I can try making the potion if I have the materials.

"I need Mantuolo Flowers, the Cat-Faced Grass's root, the liver of a living Kachou Beast…"

Lin Yun listed quite a few materials quickly. However, hearing the names of the materials, Myers felt like he had just been kicked in the head. He had seen only one of the materials, heard about another one, and didn't know anything about the rest…

Myers was quite frustrated, and didn't know what to say at all…

What could he do? There were no materials. The man promised that he could make the potion as long as he had materials. But without materials, even a Saint Alchemist wouldn't be able to do anything.

Not just Myers, the other people were disappointed too. None of them was in a good mood when their last hope turned out to be impossible.

Myers didn't say anything else. But Sheldon, who had been listening, sneered.

"Mafa Merlin, are you kidding? Even the knowledgeable Sir Myers doesn't know all the materials you mentioned. Where did you find them?

"Also, you happened to have the last portion of materials, and you luckily made the potion successfully. If you don't want to make a deal with the Thorny Crown, you can just say it. We won't mind. Or maybe, are you taking us for stupid pigs because you want to get more things from us?"

Lin Yun became cold the moment Sheldon started talking cynically. Myers' expression slightly changed. The other bloodline transplanters put on a weird expression too.

Sheldon walked forward, and stared at Lin Yun with a scary expression.

"Mafa Merlin, you'd better be a lamb and sign this contract. That way, you may be able to get some purple gold. Otherwise, you'll know what a stupid decision it is to piss off the Thorny Crown!"

Lin Yun glanced at Sheldon casually, and then turned around and looked at Myers.

"Sir Myers and I have been having a pleasant conversation, and I didn't want to kill the atmosphere. If you're determined to know the answer, why bother asking me? You know it even better than I do.

"A dozen of the Gilded Rose's material suppliers have terminated their cooperation with us. Some would rather give the Gilded Rose a huge compensation that equals their profits in the past decade than continue cooperating with the Gilded Rose.

"You should know why they did it better than I do. To prevent the material suppliers from cooperating with the Gilded Rose, one of the plantation families' leaders was killed, and the others encountered death threats. Some of the family leaders suddenly changed their attitude, and insisted on terminating the cooperation with the Gilded Rose despite the objection within their families.

"The leader of the family that has access to the most important material for that potion has already been killed. Others don't have the material. The Gilded Rose is short of even the ordinary materials, not to mention the special ones…"

After saying that, Lin Yun stopped talking to Myers. The latter looked quite terrible, and glanced at Sunny, who had been hiding behind the crowd in silence.

Sheldon's expression changed, and he wanted to say something. However, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, without coming up with anything. The smart ones in the Thorny Crown glanced at Sunny.

Myers glared at Sheldon and Sunny angrily.

Sheldon is truly an idiot. I had finally got closer to Mafa Merlin, and he even wanted to make peace with us, until that idiot Sheldon provoked him again. It's great now. Mafa Merlin certainly won't make the potion again even if he has the materials.

Such a potion is only necessary for the people who have transplanted powerful creatures' bloodlines like us. The others don't need it at all. Mafa Merlin won't be short of purple gold even if he doesn't have the potion. With his expertise in alchemy, he could make a huge profit whatever he sells…

Sunny is truly an idiot. The Ring of Roses has been having problems ever since she and Emmy controlled it. It has left traces too many times. If the headquarters hadn't helped clean up the messes, the Ring of Roses would've been completely exposed.

Those two idiots were bold enough to assassinate a material supplier family's leader to deal with Mafa Merlin. Did they want to be struck by all forces?

Are they happy? The Gilded Rose has lost access to the materials. Even the material supplier family's leader is dead. Have the others already been mind-controlled by Emmy? Damn it. They've ended the hope of everybody in the Thorny Crown!

Did they have to find the soul of the unlucky family leader in the Plane of the Undead, and learn about the source of the material from his soul?

Myers looked awful, and the others of the Thorny Crown didn't look any better. After all, everybody in the Thorny Crown who had absorbed a foreign bloodline and advanced into the Heaven Rank alive was famous. Some of them were even Heaven Rank mages. They transplanted other creatures' bloodlines in the Heaven Rank to gain greater power, or to find the truth of magic.

They had all been hiding their trump cards, but they had a rough idea about what kind of special power each other boasted.

Sunny already informed them of her history with Lin Yun when she came, although she left out the details. Now that Lin Yun filled in the details, everybody immediately knew what happened, and even how Sunny did it…

A member of the Thorny Crown had ruined the hope for everyone in the Thorny Crown…

Sheldon gloomily stood aside, with a thin layer of smoke roiling on his skin. When he breathed, it sounded like bellows were working. He glared at Sunny with such fury as if he were going to kill her.

I have to get that potion, but it's impossible now. Sunny and Emmy ruined everything…

If I got that potion, I would have even greater power. I might've become even stronger than Myers. However, that's impossible now, all because of those two b*tches. Their madness has jeopardized my interests, and stopped me from growing strong. I'm so angry…

Everybody fell quiet inside the wall. Nothing could be heard except their breathing.

Outside the green membrane of light, the crazy insects had given up. Not finding what they were looking for, they left through a few channels. All that was left was the broken stones and the magic crystals that had been dug out. Those magic crystals were thrown away like garbage. The giant insects obviously had no interest in them at all.

All the giant insects were gone. After three minutes, Lin Yun nodded at George, who had been sustaining the green membrane of light.

The membrane of light was gone, and everybody walked out of the narrow space. Seeing how casual and emotionless Lin Yun was, Myers was about to say something, but Lin Yun opened his mouth first.

"Sir Myers, there are more and more branches here. It may be dangerous for so many of us to gather together. So, let's split up. The channels might have been dug out by those giant insects. They're very complicated. It will be faster to explore them if we split up."

Myers wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. Before he could say anything, Lin Yun had already picked a channel, and left with his people.

Myers turned around, and gloomily stared at Sunny. The glittering light in his crystal eyes let everybody know that Myers was already exasperated.

"Sunny, is there anything that you'd like to explain?"

Myers sounded calm, but everybody could hear his fury. This time, nobody stepped up and defended her. Even Sheldon, who had been taking her side, simply stood aside and waited quietly.

As a man who would sell his soul for greater power, he didn't attack or kill Sunny for ruining his prospect of growing even stronger. He had already contained himself very well.

Sunny's face and body were enshrouded in gray mist. Nobody could see her expression. It was not until a few seconds later that Sunny finally explained.

"Sir Myers, we didn't know any of that…"

She looked around, and saw hate and dissatisfaction in everybody's eyes. She didn't know what to say, and simply stared in the direction where Lin Yun left, with vicious flames burning all over her eyes.