Lia

"It's fine, are you from the Whaling Group?"

Ian's expression turned serious. He didn't want to stare at her figure and scars; that would be disrespectful.

"Yes, my name is Lia, a director of the Whaling Group's Paradise Port, and I'm also in charge of operating the Breath of the Ocean."

Lia had a habit of slightly curling her lips when she spoke, as if smiling. She carried herself with composure. Although her Common wasn't perfectly standard, carrying a soft, unique accent, her demeanor exuded a grand presence.

Her voice was pleasant, and Ian found himself liking it.

"Hello, Ms. Lia. My name is Trist, and I'm from Storm's End. I heard a new continent was discovered to the south and I'm planning to check it out."

Ian smiled at her sparkling eyes and casually made up a reason. It was true he would go there eventually.

"A new continent has indeed been discovered to the south. However, the latest news is that the Empire of Divine Grace from the western continent has dispatched a fleet of new steam warships to attack the new continent.

It would be best to temporarily halt entry into the waters south of Devil's Island to avoid being caught in the war."

To show friendliness, Lia offered new intelligence.

The Empire of Divine Grace was the most powerful empire on the western continent. Its original name was the Atlantia Empire, and they considered themselves subjects of the Sea God, holding a strong reverence for the ocean.

After the ocean mist dissipated, the power of the Atlantia, which was at the bottom among the three major powers of the western continent, rapidly expanded. The Emperor of Atlantia attributed all of this to the Sea God's blessings and thus renamed it the Empire of Divine Grace.

The Sea God was one of the Seven True Gods and also governed the divine position of storms. Fishermen on the eastern continent commonly referred to Him as the God of Storms.

This piece of information greatly improved Ian's mood, and the smile on his lips widened unconsciously.

No wonder the Second Prince rushed south as soon as he obtained Storm's End. He was afraid others would get there first, and he wouldn't even get a taste.

"Thank you for the information, Ms. Lia. It's very useful to me."

Ian decided to reciprocate.

"I'm an alchemist, and I've just refined a jar of enchanted weapon oil. I think we might have an opportunity to cooperate."

Enchanted weapon oil was a consumable. Ordinary adventurers could use it, provided they were wealthy. Ian believed this product would sell very well, as not everyone had magic-infused weapons.

Since he was going to sell it anyway, at least the previous exchange had made him quite happy.

Ian gestured, and his mana gently sent the jar of enchanted weapon oil in front of Lia.

Lia looked surprised. Enchanted weapon oil was the latest achievement of the Alchemist Association and had been popular in the Sea of Miracles for the past two years.

Because its refinement consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy, even low-tier alchemists could only refine 1-5 pounds before their spiritual energy was depleted, and the quality often hovered around the mid to lower grades. Restoring spiritual energy required a full day of meditation.

Therefore, not many alchemists specialized in refining it. After all, alchemists specializing in potion-making and magic-infused equipment were the mainstream.

As a result, enchanted weapon oil, a fast-moving consumable, had always been in short supply. If the quality wasn't too bad, she would be extremely pleased.

Lia reached out and took the jar. She pried it open with some force and her eyes immediately lit up. Even the way she held the jar became careful.

Damir, who had been silent behind Lia, saw her reaction and immediately looked up. He then showed a look of surprise.

Fearing he was mistaken, he stepped closer to Lia, narrowed his eyes, and carefully sensed it with his spiritual energy.

Ian secretly watched their reactions, his heart filled with joy. His intuition was correct; his skill level was indeed high!

Alchemy was a complex field of knowledge. Many high-level alchemists could refine potions of acceptable quality but could not produce top-tier low-level potions.

The root cause lay in spiritual energy. Spiritual energy was innate. Transcendent sequences could strengthen its quality and quantity, and influence its attribute deviations, but its characteristics were difficult to change significantly.

Only by precisely controlling and guiding the entire alchemical process at a microscopic level, bringing out the ultimate properties of various materials, could the highest quality potent potions be refined.

This characteristic of spiritual energy was something one either had or didn't. Of course, some rare witchcraft could substitute for certain characteristics of special spiritual energy.

Ian noticed that his spiritual energy was becoming more refined and stable with constant meditation. He wasn't sure if it was the effect of transmigration or the Fate Cards.

Whatever the case, it was a good thing, and he decided to enjoy it secretly.

"Mr. Trist, is this Formula II? Can I try it?"

Lia snapped back to reality, composed herself, and softly asked Ian.

She actually knew about Formula II. It seemed she had used it before, which saved Ian even more time explaining.

"Feel free to try."

Ian waved his hand, indicating she could proceed.

Lia nodded slightly at Damir. Damir's sword flashed, and he picked out a piece of grease about the size of a thumb. He then channeled his spiritual energy and gently applied it to one side of the sword blade.

He then swung his weapon lightly, closed his eyes to sense, and channeled his battle qi into the weapon.

After a few minutes, the side coated with grease still emitted a faint, delicate glow, showing no signs of weakening.

"You must be laughing at us, Mr. Trist. This is the finest enchanted weapon oil we've ever seen."

Lia smiled brightly and gently closed the lid.

She felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, she hadn't left with the captain and the others at noon but had stayed behind, feeling uneasy.

"Mr. Trist, our Whaling Group has sufficient strength and is very sincere about cooperating with you. We have a reception room upstairs. Would it be convenient for you to come and sit with me?"

"Of course, I'd be delighted."

Ian closed the door and followed Lia up to the sixth floor.

The sixth floor opened into a small lobby with a bar. A few people were scattered around, all superhumans, drinking and chatting.

Three corridors extended from the lobby, with several rooms on either side of each. None of the rooms were small.

Lia led Ian through the lobby towards a corridor directly opposite the stairs. The people they passed whistled.

"Yo, Lia, have you finally opened up? Found yourself a young lover..."

"He's really handsome, good taste, I approve of this..."

"..."

Ian could tell most of it was teasing, with no malice or foul language. The atmosphere within the Whaling Group seemed pretty good.

"Shut up, you lot. This is a distinguished guest. I'll kick you out if you keep talking nonsense!"

Lia glanced back at Ian apologetically. Seeing Ian smile and not mind, she breathed a sigh of relief.

In a small reception room at the end of the corridor, Ian and Lia sat opposite each other across a long table. The can of enchanted weapon oil was placed in the middle. Damir had stayed in the lobby and hadn't followed them.

"Mr. Trist, how do you wish to cooperate?"

"Don't use honorifics. Call me Trist. I'll call you Lia. Whether we cooperate or not, let's just be friends."

Ian said with a serious expression.

Lia pursed her lips and smiled. This person's way of speaking was truly interesting.

He was also a special person. Lia's spiritual sense was sharp, and she could feel that he respected her and treated her as an equal.

Even within the relatively harmonious Whaling Group, most people couldn't achieve that.