Twin Cities: I am the man of many myths

Chapter 163: Ahri's Letter, Karma's Doubts

"Wait a minute." Irelia stretched out her hand, looked at Li Ke and said, "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 people of Zaun, not to me. They respect me and call me the Lord of Zaun." Li Ke said, looking at Wen, and then continued, "And I didn't make my identity clear. It has nothing to do with him."

Wen sighed and said thank you.

This was indeed his negligence. He was just happy about finding a talented person. Even Li Ke said that he was not an Ionian, but he still felt that the other party could be won over.

Thinking about it now, Wen felt that he had really lost his mind at that time.

Such capable people must be big shots somewhere else.

What reasons do they have to join the Ionian resistance?
Could it be because you like to endure hardship?
"Then why are you saying it now?" Irelia took a deep breath and spoke.

She went on to say, "If you don't tell me and I don't know, then you can just pretend that I haven't been here. Mr. Li Ke, I don't want to be involved with places outside of Ionia. We are in enough chaos here now, and I don't have the energy to deal with other things."

"Li Ke, she is so polite." Jinx muttered beside her. She felt that there was something wrong with what Irelia said.

Shouldn't it be the case here that even if you say it, I'll pretend I didn't hear it and then pretend that I've never been here?

But it was obvious that this woman was too polite. What she meant was, you said it, I heard it, so I can't pretend I didn't know.

Ha, if it was Jinx's words, if you didn't want to listen, you would probably cover your ears, or at worst start to act like a spoiled child and flip the table.

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Irelia. Zaun is no longer the same as before." Seeing Irelia's resistance, Li Ke smiled and said, "I came to Ionia this time just to do something and travel by the way. Meeting you was really just an accident."

"But accidents often bring surprises. I have a business deal I want to discuss with you."

"Business?" Irelia shook her head. "We are poor, and the resistance has nothing."

"What I need is not money and food. On the contrary, we can bring you money and food," said Li Ke.

As he said this, he patted Jinx on the shoulder.

"What?" Jinx looked at Li Ke.

"What materials do you need for your research?"

Jinx was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up immediately and she shouted, "Ore, I need all kinds of ores from Ionia!"

I see, Li Ke is helping me.

As mentioned before, Jinx has recently been researching experiments using Ionian magical materials, so she needs to understand the local minerals in Ionia. Since wood can have magical auras, there's no reason why local ores shouldn't have the same.

Therefore, Jinx needs data on various ores in Ionia, integrate them, and select the best ones for use.

Maybe we can find something better than Hexgem? Even if it can't be compared with Hexgem, Jinx thinks it can at least make Hexgem go a step further, increase stability and efficacy.
In short, she had already seen a mountain of gold waving at her.

"You need ore. This won't work." Irelia shook her head and refused. "Mining and logging will destroy Ionia's natural environment and make the forest spirits go berserk. All spirits will not allow this to happen."

"We will exchange it with a magic item, which I think should be able to maintain Ionia's natural environment." Li Ke said.

The so-called loss of control of all spirits and imbalance of the environment, in Li Ke's view, is nothing more than the boundary between the spiritual realm and the material realm being affected, causing the magic power of the spiritual world to be greater than that of the material realm, and the imbalance leads to violent chaos.

When chatting with Akali these two days, the information revealed by Akali also proved Li Ke's guess.

That is to say, the environment of Ionia serves as a "balance" between the two worlds. These spiritual plants and rare minerals can produce magical auras, and these magical auras will be fed back to the Spirit of Ionia, allowing the Spirit of Ionia to better control the situation in Ionia's material realm.

Firo is an example. The reason why Syndra was able to escape the "seal" was not only because her power was increasing day by day and growing secretly, but also because the first land attacked by the Noxians was Firo.

The local nature was destroyed and the spirit of Ionia was affected, so the seal weakened and Syndra emerged.

From this we can see that it is a matter of replenishing magic.

Hexgems contain a large amount of magic power, and Li Ke thinks that Hexgems can improve this situation.

So, Li Ke told Irelia about the Hexgems and explained the feasibility. After listening to it, Irelia fell into deep thought.

If what Li Ke said is true, then the land of Navoli can be restored, because relying solely on the locals' planting, Ionia will take a long time to plant green trees and return Navoli to its previous state, not to mention that there is a brotherhood that comes out to stop it.
But Irelia still took a look.

Wen nodded.

Irelia then said: "If what you said is true, then, we can give it a try."

"Use that magic gem you mentioned to exchange for our local ore. If the gem is effective, I will let the rebels go look for ore." Irelia said.

"Okay, then this matter is agreed upon. Besides this, there is another business."

"Please tell me."

"I want to build a Hexgate station on Navoli to facilitate future trade between the two places. Of course, this will be of great benefit to you." Li Ke looked at Irelia and said.

The Hexgate can reach all parts of the world, but there is also a problem. That is, the Hexgate can only be used for traveling, because Piltover has not yet established a Hexgate station in other city-states.

This means that a large amount of Hexgems will be consumed when returning, and there will be node errors, resulting in a round-trip time difference.

In Li Ke's view, this has always been a problem that needs to be solved. As the capital of world trade, why does it make sense for him to always fly airships to other city-states?
Therefore, Ionia will be the first Hextech site outside the Twin Cities. After Ionia lays the foundation, there will also be Demacia, Shurima, Bilgewater, and even Noxus.

By then, the whole world will be drawn to the twin cities.

Demacians can go to Ionia at any time, and Ionians can go to Freljord at any time.

In the future, Runeterra will become a village, which is not impossible.

"Then what do we need to pay?" Irelia asked, looking at Li Ke with some caution.

Because she didn't understand.
Ionia is very poor, and Li Ke's behavior seems to be helping the poor, but is there any free kindness in this world?

This is the kindness of strangers.

Therefore, Irelia is worried that there is a conspiracy here. She must be vigilant. One of her choices will affect the lives of thousands of people in Ionia. One wrong decision will make her a sinner of Ionia.

"I understand what you mean. This is certainly good for both of our cities." Li Ke looked at the vigilant Irelia and felt amused.

This is where he sits.
If Silk or Renata came to negotiate, Irelia would be eaten to the bone.
She was so young and immature that all her worries were written on her face, and one could tell what she was thinking at a glance.

"In the early stage, all expenses will be borne by the two cities. We are very rich, so Ionia does not need to pay anything. After the Hexgate station is built, under the influence of the two cities, your Navoli will become a trading city-state. The local specialties will be transported to all parts of the world by airships for sale. Ionia will make a lot of money and become rich."

Wen and Akali beside him both looked at Li Ke suspiciously.

"Do you think I'm doing a good deed?" Li Ke noticed their looks and also saw the confusion and puzzlement in Irelia's eyes.

He laughed, and Jinx beside him also laughed, hugging her chest.

Stupid natives.
Jinx was raised by Hilco. She doesn't like business, but that doesn't mean she doesn't understand anything about business and trade.

And what about Li Ke?

As a modern person, having worked with Hilco for such a long time and having seen Renata deal with various things, Li Ke has certainly grown.

He said, "When building a trade route, we are not afraid of spending money, but we are afraid of having no place to spend the money. For Zaun and Piltover, money is just a number now, so we will not feel bad no matter how much money we spend. Did you know? Our two cities are even considering building a sea bridge that goes directly to Shurima and connects Shurima and Valoran."

“So, for the two cities, what’s important is not how much money they can make from you. Of course, you will know it by then, so I will say it clearly.

After this trade route is completed, we will make a lot of money. We will extract a fee from each business. But this is not what we really want. What Shuangcheng really wants is status. "Li Ke said, looking at Irelia seriously.

Even today, Zaun and Piltover are still looked down upon by many countries because the status of the two cities is not "positive" enough.

The history of the two cities is indeed longer than that of Demacia, but that does not belong to the Twin Cities, it belongs to Shurima.

After all, at that time the two cities were called Va Zuan, a small port town in Shurima. Historians recorded Va Zuan in history books, and in the few words they wrote about it, they did not mention the Twin Cities, but Shurima.

But now, both Zaun and Piltover no longer belong to Shurima, but are new city-states.

But the city of Piltover has a history of hundreds of years, but what about Zaun?

Zaun was established not long ago, and even after all these years of hard work by Silco, many countries in Valoran still only recognize Piltover and not Zaun, and still think that Zaun is just a sub-city of Piltover. This is fucked up.
Why does Hilco insist that Piltover recognize Zaun's autonomy and independence?
This is because, if a city-state wants to have its own culture and truly rise, the first thing it needs to do is to obtain the consent and certification of other city-states.

And now, this is what Li Ke is doing.

Opening up trade routes and establishing diplomatic relations with Bilgewater and Ionia are what can raise Zaun's "status" in Runeterra.

You can make money and get things done.
You know what, it’s pretty good.

"Think about it carefully. There is no rush for this matter."

Seeing Irelia silent, Li Ke smiled and spoke.

In the evening, on the second floor of the repair shop.

Jinx sat on the bed with her long legs crossed, looked at Li Ke, and said, "Should we leave here?"

"Well, maybe in a few days. I'll ask Janna to pass a message and ask Singed to come over. As for us, we'll go and scout the place in advance." Li Ke was writing a letter and nodded when he heard this.

The reason for writing a letter is that Janna cannot orally tell these contents to Hilco, because there are too many contents and Janna cannot express them all.

Who says that gods have to have particularly good memories?

While Li Ke was writing a letter, asking Hilco to contact Piltover and prepare a geological team, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

The voice was so faint that Li Ke couldn't even hear what she was saying.

However, Li Ke recognized the owner of the voice.

It's Ali.
She once said that the border between the two worlds of Ionia was weak, and Ahri could sense when Li Ke came. Therefore, after Orianna's affairs were settled, she would find a way to inform Li Ke.

So, Orianna's business is settled?
Li Ke glanced at Jinx and saw her lying down hugging the pillow, her snow-white legs tightly clamped around the pillow and her eyes closed, apparently she was going to sleep.

Seeing this, Li Ke looked towards the energy point.

Well, there are two more points.

It’s better not to bring gifts or anything like that. It’s not good to only bring Ahri’s and not Kindred’s.

Besides, when Orianna comes, leaving some energy points might be useful.

Otherwise, let Singed wait?
Singed has been waiting for a long time. Almost two years!
Thinking of this, Li Ke opened the system.

Then, he entered the lotus space.

"Welcome back, Summoner Li Ke."

Li Ke quickly clicked on the landing point, location: Pingshui Lake.

Kindred's territory.

The next moment, white light enveloped Li Ke's body, and Li Ke instantly disappeared into the lotus space.

"The arrival was successful."

At the same time, Presidium——

The woman living in the temple suddenly opened her eyes, her emerald green pupils flashed, and she stood up instantly.

Then, in her spiritual world, the voices of countless souls rang out.

"Spiritual realm. Was a corner of it opened for a moment just now?"

"I also sensed it. This is not your illusion."

"How did they do this? This isn't just about entering the spiritual realm. After all, there are many people who can enter that place. Is this something like the Spiritual Blossom Festival?"

"But doesn't the Blooming Spirit Festival only happen when the sacred tree blooms? And this should be a good thing, right?"

"Dalha, you should look carefully at our memories." An old voice sounded.

Dahal is the Karma of this generation, and the old voice that speaks from him suggests he is the Karma of who knows how many generations.

But what is certain is that he is Dalha, who lived in the era of the grandfather of the grandfather of our contemporary Karma’s grandfather.

"How can this be a good thing? If the spiritual realm can be opened and entered at will, does it also mean that the person who can do this can bring out all kinds of creatures in that world?"

"Resurrecting the dead? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Fool." A gentle voice sounded. This Karma, who was from an unknown generation, said to Dalha: "If the dead can be resurrected at will and come to the material world, then not only Ionia, but the entire world will be in complete chaos."

"Maybe, Dalha, you should leave the palace." The old voice suddenly said.

Karma was stunned. She looked down at her hands and whispered, "Can I go out now? I don't have to meditate anymore?"

"of course not."

A voice sounded in Karma's mind.

The voice said with amusement: "You still need to meditate and practice every day. Otherwise, how can you gain wisdom from us?"

"." The joy in Karma's eyes faded a little, but then she nodded.

"I understand."

"So what do I do?"

"Follow the voice of the All Spirits, Dalha. You will understand what to do when the time comes. What's more, you have already done it right once. You have proved that you are right and we are wrong. This time, we are willing to believe you."

Karma pursed her lips after hearing this.

This Karma refers to the idea that she originally questioned and denied that evil deeds would be punished and that there was no need to pay attention to it.

Little Dalha is kind and just, and does not agree with this idea. Because if it is ignored, then where will the bad consequences come from for those who have committed evil deeds?
The invasion of Noxus proved all of this and overturned countless ideas that Karma had always followed.

They also blamed her for her recklessness at first, and the monks also thought she had made a big mistake.

But time and Karma's words convinced them.

Power left unused is meaningless. Harmony comes at a huge price. The world is changing. True wisdom lies not in the experience of the elders, but in accepting the facts as they are.

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 an unforgivable criminal who will bring disaster to Ionia, you should destroy him. If he can bring good changes to Ionia, then you should help him."

“All spirits will not disappoint anyone who does good.”

The sound faded away, and the green in Karma's eyes faded.

She stretched out her hand and a fan flew into her hand. Behind her, the twin dragons of Ionia coiled behind her head like a halo.

Wearing a long dress, she stepped out of the Palace of Eternal Life.

Looking in the direction of Navoli, he could see the scene thousands of miles away at a glance.

Karma closed her eyes, stretched out her hand, and saw a green bridge appear beneath her.

Lifting her foot, she stepped on it.

With just one step, Karma appeared on the other side of the sky.

This is not a power that humans can possess.

It is the power of God.

(End of this chapter)