"Wait a minute." Irelia extended her hand, looking at Li Ke and saying, "I didn't know you were the master of Zaun when I came here."
"You're not quite right. I'm just the leader of Zaun. Zaun belongs to the Zaunite, not to me. They respect me and call me the Lord of Zaun." Li Ke said, glancing at Wen, and continued, "Besides, it's because I haven't explicitly stated my identity that it has nothing to do with him."
Wen sighed beside him and said thank you.
This was indeed his oversight. He was happy just because he found talent, and even though Li Ke had said that he was not Ionia, he still thought that the other party could be recruited.
Looking back now, Wen realizes she was really out of her mind.
Someone with such ability must be a big shot somewhere else.
What reasons would they have to Ionia the Ionian resistance?
Could it be because he enjoys hardship?
"Then why are you saying it now?" Irelia took a deep breath and asked.
She continued, "If you don't tell me, and I don't know, then I can simply pretend I've never been here. Mr. Li Ke, I don't want to get involved with anything outside of Ionia. Things are chaotic enough here already; I don't have the energy to deal with anything else."
"Li Ke, she's really polite," Jinx muttered from the side, feeling that something was off about what Irelia had said.
Shouldn't the situation here be that even if you speak, I'll pretend I didn't hear it and then act as if I'd never been here at all?
But clearly, this woman was being overly polite; she meant, "You said it, I heard it, so I can't pretend I didn't know."
Haha, if it's Jinx, she'd probably cover her ears if she didn't want to listen, or at worst, she'd start throwing a tantrum and flipping the table.
"Don't be so quick to refuse, Irelia. Zaun is not what it used to be." Seeing Irelia's resistance, Li Ke smiled and said, "I came to Ionia this time only to take care of one thing and travel around on the side. Meeting you was really just an accident."
"But surprises often come unexpectedly. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."
"Business?" Irelia shook her head. "We're poor, the rebels have nothing."
"What I need is not money and food; on the contrary, we can bring you money and food," Li Ke said.
As he spoke, he patted Jinx on the shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Jinx asked Li Ke.
What materials do you need for your research?
Jinx paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up immediately, and she shouted, "Ore! I need all kinds of Ionia ores!"
I understand now, Li Ke is trying to help me.
As mentioned earlier, Jinx has recently been researching experiments using magical materials from Ionia. Therefore, she needs to understand the local minerals in Ionia. Since wood can contain magical energy, there's no reason why local minerals shouldn't have it too.
Therefore, Jinx needs data on various ores in Ionia, which she then integrates to select the best ones for use.
Perhaps they can find something even better than Hextech Gem? Even if it can't compare to Hextech Gem in the end, Jinx believes it can at least take Hextech Gem a step further, increasing its stability and effectiveness.
In short, she could already see a mountain of gold beckoning to her.
"You need ore, but that won't do." Irelia shook her head and refused. "Mining and logging will destroy Ionia's natural environment and drive the forest spirits mad. All the spirits will not allow that to happen."
"We will exchange it for a magical item, which I think should be able to maintain Ionia's natural environment," Li Ke said.
In Li Ke's view, the so-called loss of control over all spirits and environmental imbalance is nothing more than the boundary between the Spirit Realm and Material Realm being affected, causing the magic of the spiritual world to be greater than that of the Material Realm, resulting in violent turmoil after the imbalance.
During my conversations with Akali these past two days, the information Akali revealed confirmed Li Ke's suspicions.
In other words, the environment of Ionia serves as a "balance" between the two realms. These magical plants and minerals produce magical energy, which is fed back to the Spirit of Ionia, allowing the Spirit of Ionia to better control the situation in the Material Realm of Ionia.
Fae'lor is a case in point. Syndra was able to escape the "seal" not only because her power was increasing day by day and growing in secret, but also because Fae'lor was the first land that the Noxians attacked.
The local nature was destroyed, Spirit of Ionia were affected, thus weakening the seal and allowing Syndra to emerge from the earth.
Therefore, it's simply a matter of replenishing mana.
Hextech Gem contain a great deal of magical power, Li Ke believes they can improve this situation.
So, Li Ke told Irelia about Hextech Gem and explained their feasibility. After listening, Irelia fell into deep thought.
If what Li Ke said is true, then the land of Navori can be restored. It would take Ionia a very long time for the locals to plant trees and return Navori to its former state, not to mention the Brotherhood's interference along the way.
But Irelia still glanced at it and smelled it.
Wen nodded.
Irelia then said, "If what you say is true, then we can give it a try."
"Use that magical gem you mentioned to exchange for our local ores. If the gem works, I'll send the resistance to find the ores," Irelia said.
"Okay, then that's settled. Besides that, there's another business deal."
"Please speak."
"I'd like to build a Hex Gate site on Navori to facilitate future trade between the two places. Of course, this would be of great benefit to you," Li Ke said, looking at Irelia.
Hex Gate can travel to any part of the world, but there's a problem: they can only be used to travel to Hex Gate, as Piltover hasn't been able to establish Hex Gate sites in other city-states yet.
This results in a large amount of Hextech Gem being consumed on the return trip, and there is also a node error, leading to a time difference between the round trip and the return trip.
In Li Ke's view, this has always been a problem that needs to be solved. As a world trading hub, how can it always be the city-state that sends its own airships to other city-states?
Therefore, Ionia will be the first Hextech location outside of the Twin Cities. After establishing a foothold in Ionia, there will also be Demacia, Shurima, Bilgewater, and even Noxus.
At that time, the whole world will be connected by the Twin Cities.
Demacia can go to Ionia at any time, Ionia can go to Freljord at any time.
It's not impossible that Runeterra will become a village in the future.
"What do we need to give in return?" Irelia asked, looking at Li Ke with some wariness.
Because she doesn't understand.
Ionia is very poor, Li Ke's actions are like helping the poor, but there's no such thing as a free lunch.
This is a stranger's act of kindness.
Therefore, Irelia feared there was a conspiracy at play. She had to be vigilant, as one of her choices would affect the lives of thousands of people in Ionia, and one wrong decision would make her a sinner against Ionia.
"I understand what you mean, and this is certainly beneficial to both of our cities as well." Li Ke looked at the wary Irelia and found it amusing.
That's why he's sitting here.
If it were Silco or Renata who were to negotiate, Irelia would be devoured, leaving not even bones behind.
She was so naive; all her thoughts were written on her face, making it easy to tell what she was thinking.
"Initially, all expenses will be borne by the two cities. We are very wealthy, extremely wealthy, so Ionia will not need to contribute anything. After the Hex Gate is completed, with the help of the two cities, your Navori will become a trading city-state. Local specialties will be transported by airships to all parts of the world for sale, and Ionia will make a fortune and become rich."
Both Wen and Akali, who was standing to the side, looked at Li Ke with suspicion.
"Do you think I'm doing a good deed?" Li Ke noticed their gazes and saw the confusion and bewilderment in Irelia's eyes.
He laughed, Jinx, who was standing next to him, also crossed her arms and laughed.
Foolish natives!
Jinx was raised by Silco. She may dislike business, but that doesn't mean she's completely ignorant about commerce and trade.
And what about Li Ke?
As a modern person who had worked with Silco for so long and witnessed Renata handling various matters, Li Ke had naturally grown as well.
He began, "Building a trade route isn't about the cost; it's about having money but nowhere to spend it. For Zaun and Piltover, money is just a number now, so we won't hesitate to spend as much as we want. You know what? Our two cities are even considering building a sea bridge directly to Shurima, connecting Shurima and Valoran."
"So, for the two cities, what matters is not how much money they can make from you. Of course, you'll find out in time, so I'm being blunt."
"Once this trade route is completed, we'll make a lot of money from it, and we'll take a cut from every deal. But that's not what we really want. Twin Cities truly desire is status." After saying this, Li Ke looked earnestly at Irelia.
Even today, Zaun and Piltover are still looked down upon by many countries because the two cities are not considered "legitimate".
The history of the two cities is indeed longer than that of Demacia, but that history doesn't belong to the Twin Cities; it belongs to Shurima.
After all, back then the two cities were called Zaun, a port town in Shurima. When historians recorded Va'Zaun in their historical books, they only mentioned Shurima in a few words, not the Twin Cities.
But now, neither Zaun nor Piltover belongs to Shurima; they are new city-states.
Piltover has a history spanning hundreds of years, but what about Zaun?
Zaun was only recently established, and even after years of hard work and development by the Silco, many countries in Valoran still only recognize Piltover and not Zaun, still considering Zaun merely a sub-city-state of Piltover.
This is just awful.
Why did Silco insist that Piltover recognize Zaun's autonomy and independence?
This is because, for a city-state to have its own culture and truly rise to prominence, the first priority is to obtain the consent and endorsement of other city-states.
And that's exactly what Li Ke is doing now.
Opening up trade routes and establishing diplomatic relations with Bilgewater and Ionia are what elevate Zaun's "status" in Runeterra.
It can both make money and get things done.
I must say, it's pretty good.
"Think about it carefully, there's no rush."
Seeing Irelia remain silent, Li Ke smiled and spoke up.
Evening, on the second floor of the repair shop.
Jinx sat cross-legged on the bed, looked at Li Ke, and asked, "So, should we leave here?"
"Well, in a few days, I'll ask Janna to send a message to Singed so we can scout the place beforehand," Li Ke said, nodding as he was writing a letter.
The reason she wrote the letter was that Janna couldn't verbally convey all of this to Silco, because there was too much for Janna to explain in words.
Who says that Deity have to have exceptionally good memories?
As Li Ke was writing a letter, instructing Silco to contact Piltover and prepare a geological team, a voice suddenly rang in his mind.
The voice was so faint that Li Ke couldn't even hear what she was saying.
However, Li Ke recognized who the voice belonged to.
It's Ahri.
She once said that the boundary between the two realms of Ionia is weak, Ahri can sense it when Li Ke arrives. Therefore, once Orianna's matter is settled, she will find a way to inform Li Ke.
So, Orianna's matter has been settled?
Li Ke glanced at Jinx and saw her lie down, hugging a pillow, her snow-white legs tightly clamped around the pillow, her eyes closed, seemingly preparing to sleep.
Seeing this, Li Ke looked at the energy point.
Hmm. There are two more points.
Let's not bring any gifts. It wouldn't be good to bring only Ahri's items and not Kindred's.
Besides, leaving some energy points behind might be useful when Orianna arrives.
Otherwise, should we make Singed wait again?
Singed has been waiting for a full two years!
Thinking of this, Li Ke opened the system.
Then, they entered the Lotus Space.
"Welcome back, Summoner Li Ke."
Li Ke quickly selected the Advent point: Stillwater Lake.
Kindred's territory.
The next moment, white light enveloped Li Ke's body, and Li Ke instantly disappeared into the Lotus Space.
"Advent successful."
At the same time, Placidium--
The woman residing in the temple suddenly opened her eyes, her emerald green pupils flashing, and she instantly stood up.
Then, in her spiritual world, the voices of countless souls resounded.
"The Spirit Realm... Was there a corner of it just momentarily lifted?"
"I sensed it too; it's not your imagination."
"How did they do that? This isn't just a simple entry into the Mental Realm World; after all, there are quite a few people who can enter that place. This is something like the Spirit Blossom Festival?"
"But isn't the Spirit Blossom Festival only held when the Divine Tree blooms? And shouldn't that be a good thing?"
"Darha, you should carefully examine our memories," an aged voice rang out.
Darha is the current Karma, but the aged voice speaking indicates that he is from an unknown generation of Karma.
But what is certain is that he was from the era of Darha, that is, the great-great-great-grandfather of Karma.
"How can this be a good thing? If the Spirit Realm can be opened up and entered at will, doesn't that also mean that the person who does this can bring out all kinds of beings from that world?"
"Bringing the dead back to life? Isn't that a good thing?"
"Idiot." A gentle voice rang out. This Karma, whose lineage was unknown, addressed Darha: "If the dead can be resurrected at will and brought into the Material Realm, then not only Ionia, but the entire world will be thrown into complete chaos."
"Perhaps, Darha, you should leave the palace," the aged voice suddenly said.
Karma was taken aback. She looked down at her hands and whispered, "I can go out now? I don't need to meditate anymore?"
Of course not.
A voice echoed in Karma's mind.
The voice chuckled and said, "You still need to meditate and cultivate daily; otherwise, how will you gain wisdom from us?"
The joy in Karma's eyes faded slightly, but then she nodded.
"I see."
So what should I do?
"Follow the voice of all spirits, Darha, and you will know what to do in time. Besides, you have already done it right once, proving that you are right and we are wrong. And this time, we are willing to believe you."
Karma pursed her lips upon hearing this.
This Karma is referring to her initial belief that wrongdoing would be punished and should not be taken seriously.
Little Darha, kind and righteous, did not endorse this idea, because if it were disregarded, where would the retribution for those who committed evil deeds come from?
The Noxus invasion proved all of this and overturned the beliefs that Karma had always followed.
They initially blamed her for her recklessness, and the monks also believed she had made a grave mistake.
But time, and Karma's words, convinced them.
Power left unused is meaningless; harmony comes at a great cost; the world is changing; true wisdom is not the experience of elders, but accepting the present reality.
Therefore, although they never said it to Karma, they all believed that this generation of Karma would change along with Ionia.
"If that person is utterly wicked and will bring disaster to Ionia, then destroy him; if he can bring about positive change for Ionia, then help him."
"All spirits will not let down anyone who chooses to do good."
The sound gradually faded, and the green in Karma's eyes disappeared.
She reached out, and a fan flew into her hand. Behind her, the twin dragons of Ionia coiled around her head like a halo.
Wearing a long dress, she stepped out of the Hall of Everlasting.
Looking in the direction of Navori, one can see the scene a thousand miles away at a glance.
Karma closed her eyes, stretched out her hand, and saw a green bridge appear beneath her.
She lifted her foot and stepped on it.
With just one step, Karma appeared on the other side of the sky.
This is not a power that humans possess.
It is the power of God.