Above the mage

Chapter 727 The Man Who Disappeared for 1145 Days (Part 2)

Xia En bowed slightly, his posture seemingly respectful, yet carrying an undeniable sharpness.

His gaze was piercing, fixed on Dunley O'Kenley, showing no sign of awe.

Dunley Oakenley also looked at Shane, his brow furrowed.

His imposing aura grew even colder, but he still spoke in a deep voice, "Please speak freely."

"Elder Denglai, I did not mean to question your authority, but I have some questions." Xia En smiled slightly, and then directly launched his attack.

"Ever since you returned from Saint Sein City three years ago, you have been using the family's vast resources to search for an inconspicuous first-level mage in the countryside."

"I know you are sentimental. This person was Hosie's only student. Hosie is dead, and you want to find his student to make amends."

"I understand this sentiment, and the rest of the clan can also understand it. I have no objection to it whatsoever."

Xia En abruptly changed the subject, her tone becoming sharp: "But... you've been searching for three whole years."

"Over the past three years, too many of the family's resources have been used up."

"Despite expending a great deal of manpower, financial resources, and material resources on this matter, so far there has been no progress, not even a trace of that monk has been found."

"Even so, you haven't given up and are still continuously mobilizing family resources to invest in this search—Elder Denglai, if I may be so bold, haven't you gone too far?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall, and raised his voice slightly so that everyone could hear him clearly: "Although the Oakenli family has vast resources, every single one of them is hard-won, the result of the joint efforts of all the members of each branch, and cannot be used arbitrarily by any one person."

"Even if you are a clan elder with considerable power, it seems rather inappropriate to squander clan resources so recklessly and without any return, all for the sake of your emotions."

"Unless we can say that this first-ring mage possesses some other value, then we can't accept it!"

As soon as Xia En finished speaking, a murmur of discussion rose and fell in the hall.

The O'Kenley family is such a large family that it is like a small polity, divided into many branches that are intertwined, interdependent, and involved in fierce competition for interests.

Each branch of the clan was vying for the clan's resources and power.

Whoever controls more resources will have greater influence within the family, enabling their branch to achieve better development and even giving them the opportunity to take control of the entire family.

As a patriarch, Dunley O'Kenley represented one branch of the O'Kenley family.

If we can suppress him, it will definitely be a good thing for our lineage.

Therefore, even though the others were not affiliated with Shane Oakenley, they were happy to see Shane launch an attack.

Dunley O'Kenley took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions.

Three years ago, the scroll that Hosie O'Kenley left in the family's spiritual tower was discovered.

The scroll contains his unfinished rune logic and calculation system, which seems absurd and is only in its infancy, but has great theoretical value.

After a resolution passed at the family's highest meeting, they finally gave preliminary approval to Hosie's theory.

He then sent the elder, who was the most proficient in runic literature among all the clan elders, to the Duchy of Sien to bring back Hosie and allow him to continue his research on runic logic and calculation.

He was just a step too late; by the time he arrived in Saint-Sien, Hosie had already died.

But through meticulous investigation, coupled with intelligence from the family's branch of the St. Sein City Chamber of Commerce, a piece of news that shocked Deng Lai into disbelief was revealed before him.

He Xi actually left behind a set of fourth-tier rune constructs.

Keep in mind that He west is only a third-tier rune construct master.

According to the rules of runic literature, a third-tier mage can only create third-tier runic constructs at most.

This is an ironclad rule, an unbreakable rule that has existed since the birth of rune literature.

In other words, Hosie Oakenley broke this ironclad rule by creating a set of fourth-tier rune constructs despite being a third-ring rune construct master.

This is a monumental feat that overturns the existing system of runic literature, a force powerful enough to change the world order, and knowledge that connects heaven and earth.

Who would have thought that after leaving Linhai City, He west would live a secluded life in a remote corner of the country?

Without family resources or assistance from others, He west...

He actually managed to deduce and perfect his still rudimentary rune logic and calculations all by himself.

He was overjoyed.

But what happened next was so absurd that it enraged him.

Such valuable research data was destroyed by that idiot Shel Ian, who detonated it along with Hosie's rune workshop, turning it to ashes.

Hosie is dead, and all the records have been destroyed.

In other words, this knowledge, which is enough to overturn the existing runic literature, is now only possessed by Hoshi's last student, the so-called minor first-ring mage God, as mentioned by Shane.

After returning to Linhai City, he never told anyone the real reason he was looking for Gaode.

Even now, despite being publicly challenged by Xia En and questioned by various tribes, he is not prepared to speak.

If his lineage could be the first to master this knowledge and enjoy it exclusively for a period of time, it would surely elevate his lineage to the highest position within the family.

He even gained control of the family's discourse, which further elevated his status.

This knowledge, which overturns the existing rune system, will also allow the Oakenli family to rise to a higher level, completely breaking away from the situation of being on par with the other three major families, and becoming the first family and the first merchant guild in the true sense of the mage plane.

Therefore, he had to find Gaode.

Only in this way can his ambitions be realized.

For the past three years, Deng Lai has been claiming that he is looking for Gao De because He Xi is an important member of his lineage. He is exceptionally talented but his talents have been wasted, and he has never been able to fully realize his potential within the family.

He deeply regrets the passing of Jose.

As a clan elder, I feel ashamed to have failed He west's contributions and talents.

He only wanted to find Hosie's only student from his lifetime, to nurture him properly, and to make up for Hosie's regret.

This reason was initially able to barely convince the various ethnic groups.

As time went on and resources were consumed, Gao De was still nowhere to be found, yet he persisted, which fueled the growing suspicion among the various tribes.

In this profit-driven family, no one would believe that he was really so "sentimental".

Clearly, there must be some important secret hidden in Gaode.

In particular, the scroll that recorded the prototype of the Hexi runes was reviewed by the highest meeting of the family, and other branches also had some understanding of it.

They simply didn't know, nor dared to imagine, that He west, a third-ring mage and a third-tier rune master, could actually independently research and create a new rune system in less than three hundred years without any help from anyone.

Although they dared not think about it, they were certain that He west must have discovered something extraordinary.

And this thing most likely ended up in Gaode's hands.

Now, Xia En's public challenge at the clan assembly has a clear purpose:

Either force Deng Lai to reveal the truth, and everyone can share this secret and its benefits;

Alternatively, they could force Deng Lai to relinquish his control over resource allocation, compensate the various tribes, and quell public anger.

Deng Lai's gaze swept over the people in the hall who were whispering among themselves.

The light finally fell on Shane, and then moved away again.

"Although none of us have seen He Xi in person, we all know a little about his talent through that scroll."

"If the family hadn't made a mistake back then, causing him to leave Linhai City in despair, he would definitely be the family's top rune master now, and might even bring new breakthroughs to the family in the field of runes."

Deng Lai's voice was deep and powerful, tinged with regret: "He wandered all his life and was unable to fully display his talents within the family. This is his regret, and also the family's regret."

"Now that he is gone, the only successor is this first-ring mage, Gao De. I am looking for him not only to make up for my regrets about He Xi, but also to make everyone in the family remember this lesson."

At this point, Deng Lai changed the subject, his tone becoming firm: "I admit that over the past three years, we have indeed spent a lot of family resources and still haven't been able to find Gao De's whereabouts, but that doesn't mean that this search has been meaningless."

"As for the issue of resource consumption, I can give you an explanation."

"From now on, I will reduce the resources invested in searching Gaode Maps, and this year I will allocate half of the profits from my branch of the family to the family's public management as compensation."

This explanation was impeccable in terms of both emotion and reason, and it also offered substantial compensation in the end, making it a perfect explanation.

After saying this, Deng Lai's gaze fell on Xia En again, and he said earnestly, "Xia En, you care about the family and dare to raise questions. I can understand your feelings."

"But the inheritance of a family is definitely not just about interests. You are still young, but I hope you can understand this point. We are ultimately a family."

Deng Lai stopped speaking, while Xia En's expression changed slightly.

He hadn't expected Deng Lai to react so quickly and handle things so perfectly, and he even took the opportunity to openly criticize him, leaving him speechless.

In this situation, if he continues to make trouble, he will appear to be lacking in common sense.

Old ginger is indeed spicier.

He was seething with hatred, but on the surface he could only say respectfully, "Elder Deng Lai, you flatter me. I am also concerned about the family and do not want to see the family's resources being wasted."

"Since the clan elders have already given an explanation and a promise, I naturally will no longer question it."

This sudden attack was ultimately perfectly resolved by Dunley.

However, Deng Lai's heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

He knew he had to find Gaode as soon as possible; any further delay would only bring more trouble.

The enclosed room had no dark crystal floor, only a cold obsidian floor, which set off a solemn atmosphere.

The air in the room seemed to have solidified, making it hard to breathe.

The grand council ended, but Dunley began a new, private meeting.

He sat upright in the main seat, expressionless, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, and the oppressive atmosphere in the air grew stronger.

Several family mages from his branch of the family stood with their hands at their sides below the hall.

Everyone kept their heads down, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Deng Lai closed his eyes first, clearly suppressing his anger.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below like an icy blade.

Finally, Dunley O'Kane spoke, his voice hoarse and low, tinged with a hint of discontent: "From the 25th of Frost Moon in Nolan Calendar 9656 to today, the 1st of Frost Moon in Nolan Calendar 9660, a full 1145 days have passed."

sky."

"During these 1145 days, I have used countless manpower and financial resources, and even had you expand the search area to every corner of the Terra and Nolan continents."

"But what was the result?"

"To no avail! A junior mage who had just advanced to the first level simply vanished right under our noses, as if he had evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace whatsoever."

"Who would believe it if I told them? Do you think you would believe it?" Dunley O'Kenley questioned.

The monks below the hall kept their heads down, and none of them dared to respond.

Faced with Dunley's anger, they could only remain silent, powerless to refute him.

Seeing this, Dunley O'Kenley also felt a sense of powerlessness.

When he couldn't find any trace of Gaode in Saint-Sien City, he didn't take it too seriously, assuming it was because there wasn't enough time and manpower. Who would have thought that after returning to Linhai City, even with the help of the Oakenli family, more than three years later, he still couldn't find a trace of a single first-ring mage.

Despite knowing that Gaode might possess knowledge that could change the world order, they have been unable to find any trace of him.

How could he not take it seriously? How could he not be anxious?

How did a first-level mage from the countryside, with no relatives or friends, an orphan, and no powerful background, manage to disappear without a trace?

He simply couldn't understand it.

What Deng Lai couldn't understand was that when the search reached a stalemate and months had passed without any results, he invited a high-level mage skilled in divination to use divination magic in an attempt to forcefully break the deadlock through the power of magic.

However, all the prophetic spells ultimately failed after targeting God.

According to the rules of divination spells, there are only two possibilities for a spell to fail.

Firstly, the strength of the person being investigated far exceeds that of the spellcaster, enabling them to forcibly block all prophetic spells from being detected by their own magic, and even distort the trajectory of prophecy.

Secondly, the person being investigated is associated with some extremely ancient and powerful legendary forces.

These powerful legendary forces can directly interfere with the operation of prophetic spells, rendering all investigations ineffective.

The former is definitely impossible.

Gao De was just a mage who had just advanced to the first level.

As for the latter, it seems to be the only possibility...

But Deng Lai could never understand: how could a first-ring mage from humble beginnings with no background be associated with any legendary power?

What else could he possess besides the legacy left by He west?

Deng Lai couldn't understand it, but he at least understood that it was impossible to find God using magic.

We can only rely on the most basic investigative methods, piecing together clues bit by bit.

Thinking about all this, he couldn't help but rub his temples wearily.

Just then, the tightly closed door to the room was gently pushed open.

A man dressed in a silver-gray mage robe hurried in, looking anxious.