novelraw Chapter 129: Flying Flower City, Rota’s Past
Chapter 129: Flying Flower City, Rota’s Past
Flying Flower City was located on the border between the Macher Kingdom and the Nanzhe Kingdom.
It was situated on the Wind Plains, where the climate was like spring all year round.
With the songs of birds and the fragrance of blossoms, the city was perpetually surrounded by flowers, earning it the beautiful moniker "City of Flowers."
Every year on the fifteenth of July, Flying Flower City celebrated the Flying Flower Festival.
During the festival, countless flowers would bloom in unison, blanketing the entire city. It was the most beautiful time of the year.
The Mage Association also chose this well-known city to host its mage exchange conference, attracting even more mages to attend.
Li Wei, Gu Ze, and Rota.
After leaving Maple City, the three of them traveled south by carriage.
Gu Ze sat across from Li Wei and said, "It’ll take about a day and a night to get from Maple City to Flying Flower City."
"If there are no accidents, we should arrive in Flying Flower City by noon tomorrow."
"I hope the journey is smooth," Li Wei said.
He pulled back the curtain and looked outside.
The forest outside rushed past, and not far away were the caravan’s mounted escorts.
The three had joined a merchant caravan heading south to Flying Flower City.
Li Wei retracted his gaze and closed his eyes to meditate and cultivate.
Rota was leaning against the carriage wall, half-lying down and catching up on sleep.
Gu Ze had already closed his eyes to meditate and cultivate.
When Li Wei felt he had cultivated enough, he stopped.
While traveling, one couldn’t exhaust all their Spiritual Power through meditation. It would be troublesome if an emergency occurred and they were unable to cast Magic.
’Shadow Attendant, wake me if there’s danger,’ he instructed inwardly.
With that, he cast the Great Dream Traveling Skill and submerged himself into the Dream World.
In the Dream World, he began to relentlessly grind his Illusion Technique.
The day passed without incident, and the Shadow Attendant did not wake Li Wei.
When Li Wei woke up on his own, it was already night.
The night was not yet deep, and the caravan was still moving forward.
Li Wei had a simple meal of dry rations, stepped out of the carriage to relieve himself, and then returned inside to continue grinding his Illusion Technique.
Gu Ze looked at Li Wei and said, "You sure can sleep. You’ve been out since this morning."
Li Wei smiled. "I’m just conserving my strength."
Rota was already awake. He took a small spray bottle from his pocket and started to groom his hair.
He tamed his messy, shaggy hair and smoothed out his collar and Mage Robe.
Rota’s entire demeanor changed in an instant.
He transformed from a sloppy magic researcher into a mature, sophisticated Mage.
He now looked both reliable and knowledgeable.
Rota rubbed his hands together nervously. "I wonder if Evelyn is still in Flying Flower City."
Hearing this, Li Wei gave him a puzzled look and asked, "Who’s Evelyn?"
Gu Ze said with a smile, "An old acquaintance of Mage Rota’s. A female mage from Flying Flower City."
Li Wei understood instantly.
’So Rota is rushing to meet his lover!’
’No wonder he’s all dressed up.’
Gu Ze looked at Rota and asked, "I heard that Mage Rota used to be from Flying Flower City. Why did you move to Maple City?"
At this, Rota glanced at the other two and said with some embarrassment, "Back then, I felt I had no hope of breaking through to become an Official Mage, so I couldn’t bear to stay in Flying Flower City."
His face suddenly broke into a broad smile. "Once upon a time, I was the genius Mage Apprentice of the Flying Flower City Mage Academy. But alas..."
Rota shook his head and didn’t continue.
Li Wei looked at him with curiosity. He hadn’t expected Rota to have such a past.
’It sounds like the fall of a genius.’
’Thinking back, Rota’s talent really isn’t bad.’
Otherwise, he never would have been able to learn all the Tier Zero Magic in the Maple City Mage Tower.
Li Wei had entered Rota’s dream before and knew he had mastered at least twenty or thirty different spells.
Even an Official Mage might not have mastered so many.
’I wonder what happened to make him fade into mediocrity.’
A thought occurred to Li Wei, and he asked curiously, "Mage Rota, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?"
Rota froze for a moment, then looked down and calculated before answering, "I’m thirty-five this year."
He suddenly looked up at the carriage ceiling and sighed with emotion. "It’s been almost twenty years. Time really flies."
Li Wei was a bit surprised. Rota was younger than he had imagined.
The first time he met Rota, he had thought the man was in his forties or fifties.
His face just looked a bit old for his age.
Gu Ze was twenty-six.
Li Wei was sixteen.
Sixteen... that was the age when Rota had been full of vigor and ambition.
At twenty-six, Rota had believed he would never be able to break through to Official Mage in his lifetime.
A Ring Mage was one option, but it was not the path Rota chose.
Li Wei asked, "Is your home in Flying Flower City, Mage Rota?"
Rota nodded. "Yes. I haven’t been back in over ten years."
"Eighteen years ago, after my parents died, I left that family and came to Maple City alone."
"The only thing left in Flying Flower City that I still remember vividly is Evelyn. I’ll never forget her for as long as I live."
Li Wei sensed there was a heart-wrenching love story behind those words.
The three chatted for a while longer until they touched upon a topic Rota was unwilling to discuss. The voices in the carriage gradually faded, and silence returned.
Li Wei closed his eyes to cultivate. He appeared to be sleeping, but in reality, he was sweating in his dreams, putting in several times the effort of others.
In the middle of the night, the Shadow Attendant woke Li Wei.
Li Wei opened his eyes and saw that the caravan had stopped to rest.
Looking up, he saw the crescent moon half-hidden by dark clouds.
He paid it no mind, closed his eyes, and returned to the Dream World to continue grinding his Illusion Technique.
’Shadow Attendant, don’t wake me unless the danger is a direct threat to me.’
Late at night, the dark clouds drifted over, completely obscuring the crescent moon.
It was a dark and windy night.
A green light flashed in the forest. After a brief period of chaos, everything returned to calm.
When Li Wei woke up the next day, he saw several butchered Magic Beast carcasses lying next to the caravan.
The caravan set off again in a hurry before dawn.
Li Wei tilted his head back to take a drink of water and saw the pattern on the carriage ceiling twist and transform into a line of text.
He glanced at it, and the text dissipated as if it were an illusion.
[Illusion Technique (Tier Zero)] 6233/10000
After relentlessly grinding for a full day and night, his proficiency in the Illusion Technique had increased rapidly.
’I should be able to raise the Illusion Technique to Tier One before the Young Mage exchange competition.’
Li Wei was looking forward to seeing the effects of the Tier One Illusion Technique.
After passing through the forest, a boundless, verdant grassland appeared before them.
Li Wei lifted the window flap, and a breeze carrying the scent of fresh grass rushed into the carriage, clearing out the stuffy air.
Gu Ze took a look and said, "We’ve reached the Wind Plains."
A loud cry echoed from high above.
Li Wei looked up and saw several huge figures flying through the sky.
Looking down, he could see massive, bull-like Magic Beasts dotting the distant plains.
It seemed there were quite a lot of Magic Beasts on the Wind Plains.
This was mainly because the Wind Plains were flat, offering a wide, open view.
The Magic Beasts had nowhere to hide, which gave the impression that they were everywhere.
Rota gazed outside, a nostalgic look on his face.
"Now that we’ve reached the Wind Plains, we’re not far from Flying Flower City," he said.
At noon, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.
Li Wei finally saw Flying Flower City, nestled amidst countless blossoms.
The carriage traveled down a road lined with flowers. The sweet fragrance wafted into the carriage, and occasionally, bees and small birds would flit near the windows.
’Good thing I’m not allergic to pollen.’