62 Ascend the Tower

Sensing the surprise and confusion in Lupe's eyes, Yuan Chen didn't offer much explanation, simply shrugging his shoulders. "More importantly, you should have no problem deciding who you should be loyal to now, right?"

"Certainly."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Lupe Pei nodded readily and said, "I have already heard about what has happened at Yishuaoken recently... To be honest, even now, I am still deeply shocked."

Lupe said with some emotion:

"I understand the current King Yuen's obsession with tradition... Under these circumstances, even if First Alai's talent is somewhat inferior, his position will be unshakeable thanks to the support of tradition. But I didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect to fall so easily, did you?"

Yuan Chen shook his head and said, "Let's leave the pleasantries here... Let's settle the villagers first, and then I'll take you to see Qiyana."

"Let me tell you in advance, Qiyana has a terrible personality, so you'd better keep your thoughts to yourself and don't try to play mind games."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Lupe nodded, and then, urged by Milio, went to direct the group to enter the city and dismantle their equipment.

After roughly determining the location of the temporary camp, Lupe and Mordas followed Yuan Chen towards the direction of Qiyana's palace.

Qiyana's palace is located on the fourth floor. On the way up, you will encounter nobles and scholars of Yuentar. Because of the trust and intimacy that Qiyana expressed, the traditional nobles of Ixialia reacted somewhat coldly to Yuan Chen.

Yuan Chen was not surprised by this. After all, the power of these nobles stemmed from tradition. Qiyana's challenge to tradition was also a challenge to the bottom line of the nobles.

However, Yuan Chen has always looked down on these traditional nobles—it cannot be denied that in such a supernatural world, the prevalence of bloodline theory is reasonable.

For example, in many cases, if both parents are powerful mages, then even if the child is not an extraordinary genius, their Magic Talent will be far more outstanding than that of ordinary people.

The problem is that the cultivation method of the Yuan Chu Axiom does not require any talent, but it is not that high. Instead, it tests a person's ability to learn, conclude, and summarize.

In this context, many Yuentar's own magic only barely reaches the minimum level of the Vidalion Loom. What truly earns them recognition is the expansion of the boundaries of the Yuan Chu Axiom.

Having glory but lacking strength and power is not a good thing in a feudal autocratic empire. In such a case, it is usually not a good thing for members outside the royal family to control too much wealth – it often becomes the emperor's private treasury.

The Yuentar, however, were much more enthusiastic towards Yuan Chen.

In particular, the scholarly type of Yuentar dislike tradition, and there have been numerous internal discussions about it. But ultimately, the discussions always fizzled out because no one of sufficient stature was willing to raise the issue and bear the consequences.

Qiyana undoubtedly won them over—her abilities, talents, identity, and determination all gave these Yuentar hope for communication with the outside world.

Furthermore, since Yuan Chen himself possessed knowledge from Ionia, they became even more enthusiastic.

Even Lupe, who was standing nearby, was taken aback.

Looking at the Element Apprentice and mentors who bowed and made way for Yuan Chen on the road, as well as the Yuentar Elemental Master came to introduce themselves to Yuan Chen and invite him to their classrooms to exchange their insights on the truth, Lupe's eyes were filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"You seem to have... gained the approval of the Yuentar?"

"Why do you think it would be difficult for me to get a warm welcome from them?" Yuan Chen glanced at Lupe behind him and said:

"Shouldn't you know more about Yuentar than I do?"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Lupe remained silent for a long time before finally shaking her head wearily and saying, "I'm no longer Yuentar... you know that."

Lupe's willingness to cooperate with Yuan Chen stemmed entirely from her desire to restore her family to its former glory. Based on this, Yuan Chen and Lupe rarely exchanged ideas about magic.

In the ups and downs of life, Lupe had forgotten his thirst for knowledge as Yuentar.

As they were talking, they saw a familiar figure walking towards the classroom not far away. Upon seeing the burly old man with a fiery red beard, Yuan Chen's eyes lit up, and he waved, saying, "Hey! Master Odh, over here!"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Master Odh, who was on his way to the classroom, was taken aback. Turning around and seeing that it was Yuan Chen, he burst into laughter.

"Haha! Master Yuan Chen! I didn't expect you to come here; no one even notified me! How about coming to sit in our classroom? After all, the Fire Axiom is the most active of the Yuan Chu Axiom, and it's related to the spirits of Ionia... wait."

Just as he was watching with great interest, Master Odh suddenly noticed Lupe beside Yuan Chen.

Although a long time had passed and Lupe had aged considerably due to the decline of his vitality, Master Odh still recognized a familiar face when he looked at the outline of his features.

"You are... Lupe?"

"It's me... Odh." Lupe gave a bitter smile. "Long time no see..."

"Yes, it's been a long time..." Master Odh was unexpectedly silent, his chiseled face filled with embarrassment. "That... about Lunye, I'm very sorry..."

"It's nothing, I was just happy to see you."

Seeing that Lupe clearly didn't want to talk about Lunye, Master Odh's face also showed a bitter expression— Lunye was his student. Because of his rebellion against tradition, Lunye had now disappeared without a trace.

Not to mention where they are, they don't even know if they are alive or dead.

As for the past between the two, Yuan Chen had little desire to explore it. Instead, he simply pointed to Milio, who had been Yishuaoken.

"Do you remember the student I told you about? It's him."

"Oh! So this is him? He doesn't look very old!"

"Twelve years old."

Upon hearing that Milio was only twelve years old, a hint of disappointment flashed in Master Odh's eyes—he had originally thought that Yuan Chen's student could bring some exchange and progress.

But at only twelve years old... that's the age when people are most playful. Even if they start learning from a young age, how much can they really learn?

Yuan Chen didn't explain anything, but said, "He'll give you a surprise... But before that, we need to go see Princess Qiyana."