The Steward led Li Wei to the Mage Tutoring Corps.

He stood at the entrance and gestured for Li Wei to enter.

"Mage Li Wei, Master Allen is inside. You may go right in."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome. It is my duty."

"If you need anything else, Mage Li Wei, feel free to find me."

"If there’s nothing else, I will take my leave now."

"Alright."

The Steward turned and left.

Li Wei walked into the main courtyard of the Mage Tutoring Corps.

Just inside the gate was a wide plaza where many Mage Apprentices were practicing their magic.

For a Ring Mage to use magic, they first had to learn the spell before they could inscribe it into their Spell Slots.

Seeing so many Mage Apprentices fail their casting, Li Wei couldn’t help but recall when he was learning the Small Fireball Technique.

He was overcome with a sense of nostalgia.

Fesia, who was in the middle of teaching the Mage Apprentices, instinctively glanced toward the entrance when she saw someone come in.

A look of surprise crossed her face when she realized it was Li Wei.

"Keep practicing on your own for now. If you don’t understand something, come and ask me."

With that, Fesia walked over to Li Wei.

She greeted him with a smile, "Mage Li Wei! What a rare sight. What brings you here?"

Li Wei smiled. "Fesia, I’m here to see Grand Mage Allen."

Fesia teased, "And here I thought you came to see me. You got my hopes up for nothing."

Li Wei just smiled without saying anything.

He knew Fesia was just joking.

Fesia pointed to a door in the distance. "Chief Mentor Allen is in there. You can go on ahead."

Li Wei nodded. "Thanks."

After crossing the training ground, Li Wei entered a small, secluded courtyard.

He heard voices before he even saw Allen.

"Lair, what are you doing?"

Allen’s voice sounded angry.

"Teacher, don’t worry. I have it under control."

"I’m leaving. You don’t need to worry about me, Teacher."

"Lair, it’s not too late to turn back."

"It’s too late. I’ll never surpass him with normal Cultivation."

With that, Lair turned and walked out.

He ran into Li Wei at the doorway.

The two of them stopped, their eyes locking.

Sparks seemed to fly between them.

A strange glint appeared in both their eyes, each lost in their own thoughts.

Lair suddenly smiled. "Mage Li Wei. Long time no see."

"Lair," Li Wei replied with a faint smile. "Do you have a moment? There’s something I need to talk to you about."

Lair looked surprised. "Oh? What is it?"

"A private matter," Li Wei said.

Lair’s expression was one of regret. "That’s a real shame. What an unfortunate coincidence. I have to leave Maple City on business today, and I likely won’t be back for a while."

Li Wei paused for a second, then nodded. "That is a shame."

"Well then, I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you for the kind wishes, Mage Li Wei."

The two brushed past one another.

Their shadows overlapped as they passed. For an instant, one of the shadows twitched, an imperceptible movement.

No one noticed.

After taking a few steps, Lair glanced back at Li Wei’s retreating figure.

The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smirk.

"Heh..."

Allen, standing in the room, turned to Li Wei in surprise. "Li Wei, what brings you here?"

"I have some business to discuss with you, Grand Mage Allen," Li Wei replied.

"Oh? What is it? Come, have a seat and we can talk."

Allen invited Li Wei into the room, and they sat down to talk.

Li Wei discussed a few matters concerning magic and Cultivation with Allen.

Then, he shifted the topic to Lair.

"Mage Allen, Lair is planning to leave Maple City soon. Do you know what he’s going to be doing?"

Allen seemed surprised and asked reflexively, "Why do you ask?"

"I had something I needed his help with, but he said he didn’t have time," Li Wei explained.

"Oh? What is it? Perhaps I can help," Allen offered.

Li Wei shook his head. "It’s just a small matter. There’s no need to trouble you, Mage Allen."

"He said he’s leaving for a while and won’t be back anytime soon. Is he going somewhere specific?" Li Wei pressed on.

"Maple City has been a bit chaotic lately, hasn’t it?" Allen said. "I told him to head back to Extreme Night City for a while to stay out of trouble."

Li Wei’s expression flickered. "Do you know what Lair has been up to lately?"

"I’ve heard some unsettling rumors."

Allen looked surprised. "What kind of rumors?"

"That Lair has gotten close to some nobles, helping them with... less than reputable matters," Li Wei said casually.

Allen shook his head. "Those must be rumors. Lair has been holed up in the Mage Association, focused on his Cultivation. He doesn’t have time to be messing around with nobles."

"Ever since you defeated him, he’s been training with everything he’s got. He’s already become a Tier One Ring Mage."

"He couldn’t have had time to go out. He’s been cultivating nonstop. Otherwise, he never would have broken through to Tier One so quickly."

Li Wei smiled. "Well, congratulations to him then."

After a bit more conversation, Li Wei stood up to take his leave.

"No need to see me out, Mage Allen. I’ll be on my way."

"Take care. Come visit again when you have the time."

Li Wei took two steps toward the door, then suddenly stopped.

He turned back to Allen and asked, "Mage Allen, have you heard any news about the Evil God Cultists?"

"The Mage Tower was attacked by Evil God Cultists last night," Li Wei explained. "Today, there’s a high-priced bounty for any information on them, and the entire city is being searched for Black Cultists."

Allen glanced at Li Wei. "I haven’t heard anything yet. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know."

"Then I thank you, Mage Allen."

Allen watched Li Wei’s retreating figure, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

Li Wei walked down the street.

He had heard Allen and Lair’s argument when he first arrived.

’At the time, he’d suspected that Allen knew Lair was using the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony.’

’Now, it seemed that Allen might know something, but not the full story.’

’He probably thought Lair was just using the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony to enhance his own power.’

’But at least one thing was certain.’

’Allen wasn’t colluding with Lair.’

’This, too, was something Li Wei had anticipated.’

’Allen had only recently broken through to Tier Four and become a Grand Mage.’

’His future was bright.’

’There was no reason for him to get mixed up in something as vile as the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony.’

Li Wei left the City Lord’s Mansion.

He looked up, his gaze fixed in a specific direction.

It was the direction of his Shadow Attendant.

’The Shadow Attendant had attached itself to Lair’s shadow.’

Li Wei quickened his pace, heading in the Shadow Attendant’s direction.

Lilia sat distractedly in a guest room in the City Lord’s Mansion, nibbling on pastries and sipping tea.

’Li Wei, when are you coming to get me?’

She felt extremely uncomfortable sitting here.

’She kept feeling like the servants were staring at her.’

She subconsciously touched the cat ears hidden under her hat.

’They won’t find out, will they?’

When Lilith had changed back into Lilia, her cat ears had reappeared.

Now she was a nervous wreck, terrified of being discovered as a Half-Beastman.

She couldn’t sit still, even with food and drinks provided for her.

Li Wei, however, had completely forgotten about Lilia.

He was tracking the Shadow Attendant’s position to find Lair.

Lair hadn’t left Maple City after all.

He had gone to a small manor.

Li Wei stood outside the perimeter wall, peering in.

’Whose manor is this?’

It looked like it belonged to a minor noble.

There weren’t even any guards at the gate.

Seeing his chance, Li Wei threw on his Invisibility Cloak and slipped inside.