Chapter 71

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Wushuang the old man had just returned when he heard Cook's wails. He and Doctor Dokto rushed to the basement and found Cook with a miserable face, while Little Lei was hanging on Cook's neck. Cook's two hands were tightly gripping a crystal coin, and Little Lei, giggling, gently pulled it into her mouth. To Little Lei, this was a game she played with Cook.

"Five million! Five million gold coins!" Cook was on the verge of tears. It was already the fifth crystal coin, and Little Lei had already crunched through five of them. Cook had no choice; the crystal coins were hidden close to his body, but he couldn't shake off Little Lei, who had a firm grip on his collar.

Little Lei pulled out another crystal coin from Cook's inner pocket, pausing for a moment. This time, Cook didn't plan to fight for it, as it was pointless. The little girl's strength was incredible; even Cook's two hands couldn't match her one. Seeing that Cook wasn't playing along, Little Lei dangled the crystal coin in front of Cook's eyes, but when he still didn't react, she ate it herself.

"Cook, you know what you're up against now. I told you this little one has a huge appetite," Wushuang the old man said, feeling particularly pleased as he laughed heartily. Monty and Melif only wiped cold sweat, completely taken aback. One bite was a million gold coins; this little thing wasn't something just anyone could afford.

Cook, seeing Wushuang the old man laughing, said indignantly, "Miss Lori, can you reimburse me for what your baby ate?"

"What, what thing? You're my guardian knight, and the spoils are mine too. I don't want them now," Lori said with a red face.

"Choke!" Cook was choked by his own saliva; this was sheer outrageous behavior.

"Kid! Don't complain. It's your good fortune that she's eating from you. The more she eats, the faster she grows. If she doesn't eat, that's when you'll have trouble," Wushuang the old man said irritably.

"Yes, Cook. Actually, all magical beasts eat crystal coins. The first time they consume a crystal coin or a magic core directly affects their growth potential. Although this divine bloodline is already super, there are still differences within each level. So don't worry about the money; you should be concerned about what to do next. If Little Lei continues to consume large amounts of crystal coins and magic cores, it means she might be about to advance. The second advancement will require several times, or even tens of times, the amount of magic cores or magic crystals as the first time, depending on her potential. So you need to work hard to earn money. Don't worry; the Mage Guild will sell you magic crystals and magic cores at cost price," Doctor Dokto explained.

Cook's face turned a sickly green. The first time, she had already eaten eight crystal coins, and it was still ongoing. This was just the first advancement. Cook couldn't imagine how much would be needed for the next one.

"Cough, actually, feeding Little Lei crystal coins is not cost-effective. The main reason crystal coins are so expensive is that they are attribute-less. A low-level lightning magic core costs only a few thousand gold coins. And I think the chances of Little Lei advancing this time are very small," Wushuang the old man added after a cough.

"Thud!" Cook fainted on the spot. This was too much of a blow for him. Little Lei was also startled, opening her eyes wide and poking Cook's nose.

"Ouch!" Cook woke up from the pain, and Little Lei giggled, reaching to poke his nostrils again.

"Why didn't you say that earlier!" Cook, seeing he still had two crystal coins in his arms, asked Wushuang the old man with wide eyes. In just a short time, he had spent ten million gold coins.

"I forgot. How was I supposed to know you had crystal coins?" Wushuang the old man replied indignantly, even turning to blame Cook.

"Elder Dokto, please help me buy two lightning magic cores with these crystal coins," Cook hurriedly handed the two remaining crystal coins to Elder Dokto, realizing they weren't very secure in his arms.

"Ha ha, Cook, think carefully. Crystal coins aren't something you can just buy with money!" Elder Dokto said with a smile.

"Then buy lightning magic cores with crystal coins!" Cook gritted his teeth, keeping one for Kaka, who, though attribute-less, also showed a strong desire to eat.

"Alright!" Elder Dokto took the crystal coins, and Cook put the remaining one in his pocket, letting Kaka eat. Kaka, with Cook's permission, jumped into the pocket. None of this escaped Wushuang the old man's powerful mental energy, and he shook his head.

He muttered to himself, "This kid has good luck, but he's in for a rough time. A lightning dragon with divine bloodline, an attribute-less magic spider, and a spirit branch prophecy crow. Anyone would find it hard to raise even one, let alone three. Sigh!"

"This time, we can't leave for a while. The Mage Guild will dispatch enforcers to search the Roland Empire and surrounding areas. I must personally oversee this. You all should follow Elder Dokto to the Wushuang Academy," Wushuang the old man instructed Lori and the others in the evening.

"Teacher, are the alchemists really that crazy?" Lori asked curiously.

"They are all madmen. The potions they create can even wipe out an entire empire. We must be cautious. We also need to investigate the materials, potion distribution, and funding sources of this alchemist. It won't be clear in a short time, and we don't know if he has any disciples," Wushuang the old man explained, frowning.

Cook, holding Little Lei who was sucking her thumb, asked in surprise, "You didn't capture him alive?"

"Shh! Don't make it sound so easy. Capturing an alchemist, let alone a mystic alchemist, is nearly impossible. If they throw something that can wipe out an empire, what would you do?" Wushuang the old man glared at Cook irritably.

"Uh, are alchemists very profitable?" Cook asked again.

Wushuang the old man smacked his lips and said, "Profitable? It depends on the success rate, not the level. Even a Master Alchemist would lose money if the success rate is too low. Do you know that in the Magic City, an alchemy apprentice made over 300,000 gold coins in a year?"

"300,000 gold coins! How did he do it?" Cook asked eagerly.

"He made healing potions, the lowest level. Each potion sells for ten gold coins, but his success rate was over 98%. The cost of a low-level healing potion is just a few silver coins. His technique was proficient, and making low-level potions doesn't require much magic power, so he could produce about a hundred bottles a day, all at once," Wushuang the old man explained.

Cook was envious, but then he looked at Little Lei and sighed, "Sigh, even 300,000 gold coins wouldn't cover what this little one eats in one bite. No, I can't handle it. You're Lori's teacher; this is Lori's baby, not mine. As a teacher, can you just watch her eat others' things?"

"Cough, my point is, if you want to learn alchemy, focus on one aspect. Don't try to cover everything. As for Little Lei, you can stop feeding her, but she will grow slower. Think about it; once she grows up, she will be unbeatable," Wushuang the old man rolled his eyes.

Cook looked at Little Lei, hesitating. He wouldn't abandon her, but he couldn't afford this. Seeing Cook's hesitation, Lori pinched him hard and said irritably, "Why are you so stingy? I didn't say I wouldn't pay you. Here, this is what Grandpa gave me to give you."

"So many magic cores!" Cook saw Lori pull out a box, opened it, and found dozens of pigeon-egg-sized magic cores, all mid-level, but none were fire or wood. They were embedded in the box.

"Hmph! Stingy!" Lori glared at Cook and went upstairs, followed by Mitch.

"Here, kid, I have something good for you." Wushuang the old man took out a black, palm-sized leather bag and handed it to Cook.

"What is it?" Cook asked curiously.

"It's a pet bag, with a spatial expansion magic array inside!" Wushuang the old man explained.

"Rip!" Without noticing, Little Lei grabbed it and put it in her mouth, tearing the black leather bag.

"Boom!" A huge force sent Cook flying, but he was then caught by a gentle force and suspended in the air.

Cook saw Wushuang the old man extend a hand, and a green barrier appeared in the room. Inside the barrier, the chair and everything else were shattered by a massive force. The space distorted, and a fist-sized black hole appeared, sucking in the debris. The green barrier Wushuang the old man cast was trembling, resisting the suction.

"Kid, you...!" In an instant, the distorted hole disappeared, and Wushuang the old man withdrew his hand, pointing at Cook speechlessly.

"What happened?" At that moment, Dokto and the others rushed in, seeing the hall as if it had been hit by a storm.

"A pet bag was torn by the little one." Cook shrugged, and the little one, knowing she had done wrong, buried her face in Cook's chest, not looking at anyone.

"What... what? A pet bag was torn?" Dokto almost lost his balance, stammering.

"Hmph!" Wushuang the old man grunted and said, "Even the spatial expansion magic array inside was destroyed, and a spatial rift appeared."

"Uh!" Dokto looked at Little Lei in surprise, but she buried her face in Cook's chest.

"Tsk tsk tsk! Unbelievable. It seems you'll be taking the kid to the academy. This might be the first time in Wushuang Academy's history!" Dokto tsked and joked.

"He's an auditor!" Wushuang the old man, thinking of Cook taking Little Lei to the academy, where he would become a topic of discussion, his face turned sour, glaring at Dokto.

Dokto, seeing Wushuang the old man's sour face, chuckled inwardly but suggested, "How about making Cook a temporary worker?"

"Rubbish! Dokto, I'm entrusting them to you. You're responsible for taking them to the academy to register." Wushuang the old man left after saying this.

"Uh, President, President!" Dokto, thinking of having to take Cook to the academy, feared that he would be seen as using his influence to get Cook in. Cook going in was fine, but Little Lei's appearance would make many people laugh at him. Imagining the story being passed down in the academy, Dokto felt depressed, but this was a direct order from Wushuang, and he couldn't refuse.

"Cough. We'll go to the Magic City Wushuang Academy tomorrow. Prepare anything you need." Dokto coughed and instructed, then left with Nali.

Cook didn't sleep well all night. Little Lei didn't follow anyone else, just him, and she was incredibly energetic, crawling around the room and biting anything she saw, making a mess of everything. Cook didn't bring much, just some money.

"Brother, when will you be back?" Lily looked up at Cook with big eyes.

"Be good, Lily. I'll be back for your birthday," Cook patted Lily's head.

"Go, take good care of Miss Lori. Don't worry about us." Old Hill waved, but Cook saw the redness in his eyes, indicating he had been crying.

"Father, I'm leaving. If anything happens, find Nali at the Mage Guild. He will notify me as soon as possible. Take care of yourself and don't drink too much. Take good care of Mother." Cook hugged Old Hill tightly, tears in his eyes.

"Go, I remember. Remember, don't disgrace the Hillton family!" Old Hill patted Cook's shoulder hard, suddenly realizing his son was taller than him.

"Cook, take good care of Mitch!" Cook's mother thought of her future daughter-in-law.

"Stay here!" Cook got on the carriage, having sent a message to Naris, but Naris hadn't arrived yet, and Cook couldn't wait.

"Lady Lori, please take good care of my family." Cook got on the carriage, where Melif and his wife, Lori, and Mitch were sitting.

"Don't worry, Cook. I'm the commander of the Magic Legion, and my father-in-law will return soon. With the Mage Guild's enforcers here, there's nothing to worry about," Melif smiled.

"Thank you!" Cook thanked them again.

"Cook, once you enter the academy, you won't have any special privileges. As Lori's guardian knight, you must protect her!" Lady Yaris instructed Cook.

"Madam, I will!" Cook quickly agreed.

"Alright, we won't see you off!" In just a few minutes, the carriage arrived at the Mage Guild. Melif and his wife didn't enter, as Nali was already waiting for Cook, Lori, Mitch, and Connie, Lucy, and Martha. Lucy, dressed as a warrior, was a Silver Swordmaster, the strongest fighter in the group, specially trained by the Ceylon Empire to protect Connie.

Lucy felt a mix of emotions, looking at the group and her Thorn Crown Armor, an excellent set of magical armor, and the two magic weapons wrapped in black python skin, all given to her by the Claris family because she was a female Silver Swordmaster. Lucy also learned from Connie about the true identity of the baby in Cook's arms and Lori's teacher. It was hard to imagine that a mere apprentice had defeated the royal guard, dozens of elite assassins, many nobles, and the third prince. But Lucy didn't dare to bring it up, as everyone's identity represented the wrath of thunder, and she sensed two dark presences around them, reminding her of the shadowy figures that appeared behind them in Cook's hall.

"Miss Lori!" At the Mage Guild entrance, Monty, Bell, and Besu were waiting. Bell and Besu bowed to Lori.

"Please!" Nali, seeing the large group, felt a headache. The single-person teleportation array would consume a lot of energy, but it hadn't stopped in the past few days due to the continuous arrival of enforcers from the Mage Guild headquarters.

"Hurry, hurry, don't stand on the teleportation array, leave, leave immediately!" Cook felt someone shouting in his ear as he stepped into the teleportation array. He found himself in a large hall with a huge magic array under his feet and quickly stepped down.

"What's wrong with you? When using the teleportation array for the first time, you must step out immediately after teleporting, or it will affect the next person." Cook, just as he stepped down, was scolded by someone.

"Sorry, it's my first time, and I'm a bit dizzy!" Cook opened his mouth in surprise, as the teleportation array was already filled with a dozen more people, looking tired with damaged armor and weapons. One person was missing half an arm. Cook quickly explained to the person next to him.

"Uh! Where's your teleportation token?" The person next to him, clearly a staff member, received black tokens from the dozen people, who then hurriedly left.

"We have more people coming!" Cook pointed to the teleportation array.

"Is it a single-person array?" The person next to him was a short, fat man with a white star on his mage badge, indicating a Light Mage (1st to 3rd level is indicated by lines, 4th to 6th by stars, and 7th by a sun, 8th by two suns, and 9th by three suns. The color of the lines, stars, and suns indicates the element).

"Um!" Cook nodded, and at that moment, Mitch and Lori appeared in the teleportation array.

"Here! Here!" Cook waved quickly.

"Wow! Dude, who are they?" The fat man saw Lori and Mitch and exclaimed.

"Classmates!" Cook didn't know how to explain.

"Are you from Wushuang Academy?" The fat man took the tokens from the others and asked.

"Just came to register!" Cook replied casually.

"Official students?" The fat man asked again.

"I'm an auditor, they are official students." Cook quickly pulled Mitch and Lori.

The fat man was stunned when a Saint Mage, a Fire Mage, appeared next. Cook waved, "Lord Monty!"

"Um! Let's go!" Monty had used the teleportation array before, so after Connie, Lucy, Bell, and Besu gathered, he showed his free teleportation badge and left.

"Damn, what's his background? A lifetime free teleportation token! Is he an elder?" The fat man looked at the badge and cursed after a while.