"His teacher."

Evelyn said calmly.

"Oh."

Li Wei got his answer and took two steps away, but he suddenly felt that something wasn’t right.

It hit him all at once.

’Rota is clearly in love with her, but Evelyn isn’t his lover? She’s his teacher?’

’Wait a second!’

’Rota is thirty-five. If Evelyn is his teacher, how old is she?’

Curious, Li Wei glanced back at Evelyn.

Evelyn looked like a mature woman, fair-skinned and beautiful, without a single crow’s foot around her eyes. She looked incredibly young.

She didn’t look older than Rota at all.

In fact, Rota looked much older than his teacher.

’Their roles should be reversed.’

Evelyn put down her pipe and looked at Li Wei. "What? Is there another problem?"

Li Wei knew better than to ask a woman her age.

He quickly said, "No, I’m just a little surprised. You look much younger than Mage Rota."

Evelyn smiled. "You’re quite the smooth talker."

"All women love beauty. I’m just good at taking care of myself."

Despite her words, Li Wei could hear the pride in her voice.

Li Wei seized the opportunity to praise her a little more.

"It’s not just that you take good care of yourself; more importantly, you’re a natural beauty. Even without any maintenance, you would still be stunning."

Evelyn was very pleased by the compliment.

After a chuckle, she looked at Li Wei and said, "If you really want to help Rota, go to Pumpkin Manor outside the city tomorrow afternoon."

Li Wei was taken aback. He was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected a simple compliment to land him a task.

But he had come here to solve a problem in the first place.

He didn’t hesitate for long.

"Do I need to prepare anything?" Li Wei asked.

"No, just show up," Evelyn said with a faint smile.

Li Wei nodded. Before leaving, he asked one last question.

"Do you know me?"

Evelyn looked at him, smiled, but said nothing.

Li Wei seemed to understand.

Evelyn had known who he was from the very beginning.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited until Rota had left to call him down.

Li Wei departed.

Evelyn emptied the ash from her pipe and looked at the old woodsman sitting to the side.

"Aren’t you going to meet him?" Evelyn asked.

"I already have," the old woodsman replied.

From start to finish, Li Wei had never even noticed there was another person in the courtyard.

Li Wei walked back, his mind racing.

’How did my identity get exposed?’

There were two possibilities.

Someone had told Evelyn ahead of time.

Or Evelyn had heard about the commotion he’d caused at the Mage Association and recognized him.

’Hiss... Why do I get the feeling I’m in over my head here in Flying Flower City?’

This made Li Wei feel a little uneasy.

He still preferred the carefree days in Maple City.

’Let’s get this over with quickly, before I run into more trouble.’

Back in his room, Li Wei glanced at Rota’s door.

Rota had already returned.

He was lying in bed, unable to sleep.

’It’s just unrequited love. It’ll never go anywhere!’

Li Wei shook his head and lay down to sleep.

He entered the Dream World.

He spent some time on his Cultivation of the Illusion Technique, only to discover that the difficulty of cultivating the Tier One Illusion Technique had increased several times over.

Since Li Wei was just trying to cram at the last minute, he decided not to tackle such a tough problem.

’Deduce the Invisibility Armor Spell.’

「One night passed.」

[Invisible Armor Skill (Tier One Small Success)] 7812/10000

As his proficiency increased, the number of layers Li Wei could stack went from the initial nine to eleven.

His Defense Power had increased considerably.

So far, Li Wei had yet to encounter an enemy capable of breaking through all his layers of Invisible Armor.

The Ant King might have had the ability.

Unfortunately, Li Wei had one-shot it with a single Charged Fireball, giving it no chance.

Naturally, the higher the Defense Power, the better.

No one would ever complain about having too much Defense Power.

The third day of the mage exchange proceeded as scheduled.

Gu Ze invited Li Wei to check out the exchange event, but Li Wei declined, staying in the inn to focus on his Cultivation.

Gu Ze then went to invite Rota, only to find he had disappeared early in the morning.

So, he had to go to the exchange event alone.

At the event, Gu Ze ran into several acquaintances.

"Mage Wilder?"

"Mage Lilith, long time no see."

"Good morning, Grand Mage Allen."

...

Allen looked at Gu Ze and asked, "Are you here by yourself?"

Gu Ze said, "Li Wei is staying at the inn for his Cultivation, so he didn’t come. I don’t know where Rota went."

"Li Wei is here too?" Allen asked, surprised.

Gu Ze nodded. "Yes."

Allen asked, "Is Li Wei participating in the exchange competition?"

Gu Ze replied, "The Tower Master told him to participate in the next one."

Allen nodded, understanding.

Gu Ze had long since spread the news throughout the Mage Tower that Torresta had taken Li Wei on as a disciple.

Allen was well aware of this.

"If Li Wei isn’t participating, then only Wilder and Lilith will be representing Maple City this year," Allen said.

Gu Ze turned to look at Lilith.

Lilith was busy eating something, paying no mind to their conversation.

Wilder’s expression was grim, his eyes clouded with a dark look.

He still hadn’t recovered from the blow he suffered back at the Kovada Mine.

He had nearly lost his life, only escaping by a stroke of luck before being found.

In the afternoon, Li Wei left Flying Flower City and arrived at Pumpkin Manor on the outskirts.

Pumpkin Manor grew pumpkins and vegetables, and was one of Flying Flower City’s most important food sources.

The Set Clan controlled Flying Flower City’s food supply, so their status was not low.

However, after some turmoil, the Set Clan had fallen into decline.

They were about to lose even this land, Pumpkin Manor.

It was at a critical juncture, facing a crisis of survival.

If they lost Pumpkin Manor as well, the Set Clan would exist in name only.

When Li Wei arrived outside Pumpkin Manor, he saw that large tracts of land lay fallow and unplanted.

The enormous manor stood alone amidst a sea of weeds.

Even the weeds on the walls had been left untended.

It was clear just how far the Set Clan had fallen.

Li Wei saw Rota standing at the manor gate.

Hearing footsteps, Rota turned, a look of surprise on his face.

"Li Wei, what are you doing here?"

Li Wei walked up beside him and looked up at the manor’s nameplate.

The writing was already faded and illegible.

"Is this your home, Mage Rota?" Li Wei asked.

Rota nodded. "Yes. I haven’t been back in eighteen years."

CREAK!

An ear-piercing grating sound rang out as the manor’s main gate was opened.

Several people rushed out. "Uncle Rota, you have to save the Set Clan!"

Li Wei turned his head and saw two familiar figures.

After a moment’s thought, he recalled the two young men he had seen at the Mage Association two days ago.

At the time, it seemed they were trying to request an audience with a certain Mage.

TRAMP! TRAMP! TRAMP!

The sound of hooves approached.

The people pleading with Rota fell silent and looked into the distance.

A group of riders galloped over, braking to a hard stop right in front of them.

Dust kicked up by the hooves flew into everyone’s faces.

A Law Enforcement Officer from Flying Flower City sat high on his horse, looking down on the crowd.

He announced, "The Set Clan can no longer maintain Pumpkin Manor’s normal operations. In accordance with the treaty between Flying Flower City and its noble clans, the City Lord’s Mansion will reclaim ownership of Pumpkin Manor, effective immediately. All individuals not affiliated with the City Lord’s Mansion are to vacate Pumpkin Manor at once!"

"This is the final ultimatum. If you continue to linger and refuse to leave, don’t blame the City Lord’s Mansion for sending the army to drive you out."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.

A shower of petals appeared in the sky.

As the petals fluttered down, a figure materialized before them.

The Law Enforcement Officer stared at the newcomer, exclaiming in shock, "Lady Rose!"