Peeking

It turned out that as long as the money was in place, efficiency rose sharply.

The moment the sun came up, Haide House Trading Company delivered the keys and property transaction certificate to the Breath of the Ocean. Ian did not dawdle either. After packing up a few things, he brought Wawa along and took a carriage straight to the tower.

The tower was about twenty kilometers from the Breath of the Ocean. By the time Ian arrived, it was already eight in the morning.

The carriage turned from the main road onto a side road. After passing through a small patch of coastal mangroves, it reached a sandy area several kilometers across.

A few short mangroves grew sparsely across the sandy area, and a miniature peninsula at its far end had already come into view.

The entire peninsula was surrounded by a dark gray stone wall more than three meters high. There was a large gate in the middle, and the stone lintel above it bore the Common Tongue inscription "Hercules."

The peninsula extended northwest from Paradise Island, with high ground in the north and low ground in the south. A tall and magnificent five-story hexagonal tower stood atop the high northern cliff.

The tower covered more than a thousand square meters, with each floor standing over five meters high. Its gray-black stone surface was mottled everywhere with the marks left by storms.

At the center of the tower's interior stood a milky-white pillar over two meters in diameter, supporting the entire structure.

This pillar was probably the framework of the original lighthouse. The white stone was white pillar stone, a specialty of Paradise Island, but it had now been completely depleted.

Perhaps to block out the howling sea winds, the tower had been divided into inner and outer sections. The outer section contained a staircase winding upward, with viewing platforms beside the windows on every floor. Above the fifth floor was a sightseeing platform with a pointed roof.

The inner section surrounded the white stone pillar. Each floor had its own entrance and served a different purpose. There was even a water tower at the top.

The inside of the tower had already been cleaned thoroughly. The wooden furniture was rather old, but fortunately it was still sturdy enough, so Ian had no intention of replacing it.

Ian inspected the tower from top to bottom and inside and out. Apart from the poor lighting and the strong wind noise, it had no real flaws.

At least, he was very satisfied. In his previous life, he had still been renting a place after nearly thirty years. He had not expected to own such a large building only a little over ten days after crossing over.

Ian left Wawa, whose body had grown another size larger, on the spacious first floor of the tower and went out alone.

If he wanted to live here comfortably for several months, there were still plenty of things to do, such as repairing all the broken windows and hiring a good chef.

Two hours later, Ian returned to the tower with several craftsmen and a pile of supplies. As expected, he had not found a suitable chef.

However, he had arranged for three meals a day at the nearest tavern. Someone would deliver them every day.

Ian waved for the craftsmen to measure the windows on their own, while he sorted and put away the bedding, tableware, and other things he had bought.

Ian knew the formula for enchanted glass. He could completely seal all the windows with it, but there were too many windows in the tower. It would take too much time and effort, so he decisively abandoned the idea.

Ian confirmed a three-day work period with the old craftsman in charge and told them to begin construction the next day.

After replacing all the locks, he headed straight for the Bounty Hunter Guild. Whatever else he lacked, he could not let Wawa go hungry.

He did not bring Wawa along. Wawa was too large now, and taking it outside would attract too much attention.

On the third floor of the Bounty Hunter Guild, Ian prioritized the materials Wawa had already approved. For materials it had not seen, he took a little of each based on instinct.

This time, Ian was extremely generous. He spent all eight magic gold coins, exchanging them for several large bags of spiritual materials.

Ian's lavish spending attracted the attention of the Extraordinary Sequence users on the third floor. He spent money as if it had been blown in by the wind.

Most Bounty Hunters could not earn 800 Divine Grace Gold Coins in a year.

Ian paid no attention. All he wanted now was for Wawa to grow up quickly so that he could bring his younger sister over as soon as possible.

Every day that passed meant one more day of danger. Who knew when the Second Prince might take a dislike to her? Judging by his previous arrogant and overbearing conduct, it was not impossible.

Fortunately, Wawa's appetite was growing by the day, and its intelligence was improving as well. At last, Ian could see a glimmer of hope.

The Guild director, whose face was covered in smiling wrinkles, considerately sent two attendants to help Ian carry the things back.

"You finally came out—"

Central Avenue, in a room at the Schbege Noble Hotel.

Haistorm's gloomy face had lasted for several days, but it finally revealed an excited smile.

At that moment, a breeze held a silver hand mirror aloft in front of him. The mirror did not reflect the room. Instead, it showed Ian's back on Central Avenue.

Looking closely, the center of the mirror's view was not Ian, but the enchanted cloth bag carried on the back of one of the attendants.

Haistorm had endured a miserable childhood. Fortunately, he had accidentally come into contact with the indigenous Extraordinary profession known as the Storm Lord. He successfully awakened his spirituality and advanced to Sequence 7 without relying on a Sequence Potion.

This had made him even more confident and forceful. However, it was merely a disguise concealing the pain and humiliation of his childhood. His true nature was vindictive and ruthless.

After suffering spiritual backlash that day, Haistorm felt that he had taken a heavy loss. Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, he swore to inflict a hundred times his own pain upon Ian.

Haistorm guessed that Ian might possess some powerful anti-astrology equipment, so he did not locate Ian directly. Instead, he placed concealed spiritual marks on some of the Bounty Hunter Guild's materials.

The mark of this Seeking Shadow Mirror was extremely subtle and difficult to detect. It had never failed him. The Bounty Hunter Guild possessed countless materials, and unless something was particularly expensive, no one would inspect each item in detail.

Today, he had finally waited for his chance.

Haistorm's gaze moved continuously with the view in the silver mirror until a towering building appeared before him.

"So that's where you are—"

On the first floor of Hercules Tower, Wawa was excitedly hopping around after seeing so many spiritual materials for the first time.

Ian said generously, "Eat whatever you want. Eat as much as you want!"

Wawa could understand some speech now, and Ian had begun guiding it to grow in the direction of a battleship.

For this purpose, Ian had even drawn quite a few sketches, constantly describing decks, watertight compartments, propellers, and other things so that Wawa could understand them better.

Even Ian was no longer certain whether Wawa could meet his requirements.

That evening, after refining Enchanted Weapon Oil as usual, Ian entered deep meditation once more.

In the Spiritual World, the Fate Card gave off a gentle glow that illuminated the entire space. As the Original Tree pulsed like breathing, Ian's spirituality, body, and Mana continued to grow stronger.

Compared with when he had first crossed over, the Original Tree had grown at least one-third taller, and the entire Spiritual World had expanded by more than a circle. Compared with the original owner, his rate of progress could only be described as monstrous.

According to the knowledge feedback from the Extraordinary Sequence Alchemist, his spirituality had already reached or even exceeded the limit of Sequence 9.

According to the taboos of spiritual cultivation, he should suspend his training and focus on maintaining stability.

He should then use more advanced Extraordinary knowledge to advance, thereby better stabilizing the Spiritual World and avoiding spiritual imbalance and the terrifying, unforeseeable consequences it could cause.

Spiritual power had always been the most difficult thing to improve. No medicine could directly increase spirituality without side effects. It could only naturally grow through the replenishment of the body and Mana, as well as the strengthening of the soul.

Of course, excessively high spirituality would also place pressure on the soul, body, and Spiritual World, making them harder to control. Spiritual tentacles would even break through the barriers of the Spiritual World, exposing them to the contamination and temptation of the Spirit Realm and Shadow Realm.

Ian, who had obtained the Fate Card, seemed to be different from everyone else. His bodily potential had been greatly enhanced.

For example, an ordinary Extraordinary's spiritual limit at Sequence 9 was ten. Once they reached ten, they could no longer improve and had to advance and evolve again and again to gain greater growth potential.

But Ian's spirituality had reached fifteen and was still continuing to grow steadily.