It doesn't matter what the lord is.

After all, he had promised the Lingwu Lord that he would not reveal the relationship between the two. Although everyone present was absolutely reliable, Lid felt that this was not a reason for him to betray his teammates.

Only He Yue raised his eyebrows, and there seemed to be a bright light in his eyes.

Lide arranged for Xiang Zhehua to stay in the manor, and the task of taking care of chocolate fell on her. As for Jiang Lianqing, Lide asked her about her future plans as promised. Jiang Lianqing hesitated for a while and said she wanted to go to Fang Shisan to study for a while. Lide naturally entrusted her to Fang Shisan's care, and then continued to be his hands-off boss.

Bai Huang kept asking who Li De had the child with. She looked really angry, although Bai Huang herself didn't know why she was angry. She just had a vague feeling of being betrayed, but after thinking carefully, she felt that Li De didn't betray her. But it didn't matter. According to Bai Huang's personality, she would not bother about what was going on here. Since torturing Li De could make her happy now, she would naturally follow her instincts.

After everyone else had left, He Yue quietly put his hand on Lid's shoulder and looked at him with a look of full trust.

Lid felt a little scared by her stare, and couldn't help asking:

"What do you want to do?"

He Yue had a gentle smile on her face and said softly:

"I asked the kid."

He Yue paused and continued:

"This child is very tight-lipped and not easy to deceive. When I asked her about her background, she kept her mouth shut. But when I praised her mother for being beautiful, she proudly said that her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, even more beautiful than me."

Li De wanted to teach Chocolate a lesson on the spot, telling her that the prettier the woman, the more likely she is to lie, and that she should not be easily tricked. Li De thought about it, and decided to tell He Yue what happened at that time, otherwise it would be bad if she treated the Lord of Lingwu as her own family in the future. He Yue was not particularly surprised after hearing it, but just nodded, and told Li De that she knew the child was not her biological child, because it had not been a year since Li De went to Lingwu and Chocolate came. Even if the Lord of Lingwu fell in love with Li De at first sight and pushed forward on the spot, and the two of them shamelessly lingered in bed all day long, it would be too late in time.

"Compared to this, there is something I think you should prioritize."

He Yue released her hand from Lid's shoulder and said to him:

"A great god has come to the Magic Society, and it looks like she's planning to stay there. We don't know what she's doing here, and we don't dare chase her away, so we can only let her stay there for now... Go take a look when you have time."

68. There is nothing too big in the world

Li De first checked with He Yue what had happened in Yunyang during the time he was away.

Griffa took over the job of the finance department from He Yue, and he also moved into the mansion with his childhood sweetheart Wan Douzi. Now the whole Lingyun City knows that whether a person is worthy of the lord's attention depends on whether he can settle in the mansion. Being assigned a room in the mansion means that this person has entered the core decision-making level of Yunyang and can go to the council hall for meetings at any time.

A considerable part of the tasks related to finance had been handed over to Griffa, so Lid asked He Yue to say hello to him and compile a list of companies that were short of money as soon as possible and hand it over to Nan Chu to attract investment. A new batch of students from Yuxi Academy was about to graduate, and it was just the right time to form an audit team to check whether these companies had any water. Companies that were too water would be directly eliminated. Lid didn't want the dry stock dividend system to fail in the first interview.

Unexpectedly, He Yue told Lid that the list was already available, and Griffa had independently completed the statistics shortly after taking office.

There are a total of 29 newly built companies that need to raise funds from outside, and they plan to raise 3 million gold coins. Currently, 600,000 gold coins have been raised from Yunyang, and there is still a shortage of 2.4 million gold coins. Li De thought for a while, took out the 500,000 gold coins he brought back from Nanchu, gave them all to He Yue, and said to him:

"It seems that some of the old Yunyang nobles who are hiding very deeply still don't trust us. This is also good. In addition to Yunyang's state-owned enterprises, we can also take shares in some key private enterprises first. In the future, we can continue to invest in research and development when we make money."

He Yue smiled and asked:

"Aren't you worried that someone will say you're competing with the people for profit?"

Reed shrugged.

"I not only compete with the people for profit, I also compete with officials, merchants, and nobles for profit. Let them talk as much as they want, it won't reach my ears anyway, so out of sight, out of mind."

Lide once heard a saying that when your wealth reaches a certain level, you are just keeping it for the society. Lide feels that this saying is not entirely true. The word "keeping" seems to mean that no matter how much money is made, it has nothing to do with the person concerned. Then why does a person keep accumulating wealth? Lide can give away all his wealth without frowning, not because he is so noble, but because he knows very well that money is actually the thing he needs least at the moment.

If Yunyang fails to develop and loses in the future, the cash on Lide will become wealth kept by others. On the contrary, if Yunyang wins in the future, even if Lide has no money, he can get whatever he wants. As long as he asks, even the stars in the sky will be presented to him.

After checking with He Yue about recent work, Reed took the initiative to ask him about Bai Huang.

Reed remembered that before he left, Bai Huang once said that he wanted to go to the Sea of ​​Clouds.

He Yue sighed softly and said to Lid:

"Bai Huang went back, but he didn't stay in Yunhai for long before Bai Feng forcibly sent him back. Yunhai should be in chaos. Not long ago, there were unusual movements in Nanhai. There were reports that the eldest son Bai Ye might have broken through the tenth level of martial arts. There are no other people at the tenth level in Yunhai. If Bai Ye really reached the tenth level, he might be able to kill Bai Feng directly."

Reed nodded, feeling a little sympathy for Bai Huang.

Everyone will experience a lot of loss in their growth, or it can be said that human growth is built on loss. However, for Bai Huang, whose life has been smooth sailing in the past, it may be difficult for him to accept this for a while. With Yun Yang's current overall strength, he cannot interfere in Yun Hai's family affairs from the outside. Li De plans to find time to have a good talk with Bai Huang. If Bai Huang is really very sad about this, Li De will consider turning against Yun Hai for him.

Anyway, from the geographical point of view, if Yunhai wants to fight for the world in the future, the first place it will have to conquer is Yunyang. Yunhai is too remote, further south than Yunyang, and has reached the border of Yongtian Kingdom. So Lide and Baifeng or Baiye are destined to part ways one day, it just depends on when that day will come.

After checking the work with He Yue, Reed went to the magic club as she said.

When Lid first entered, he thought for a moment that he had walked into the wrong place. He remembered that when Lid left Yunyang, the Magic Club had just absorbed a group of people with magical talents, and the only real magician was Fileta. So at that time, this place was more like a school specializing in magic teaching than a formal research department. Lid originally thought that the Magic Club could only enter the stage of normal operation after these people grew up.

However, he had just left for a short while and when he came back he found that the magic club had been completely renewed from the inside out.

The building was renovated and somewhat similar to the alchemy workshop that Lid knew. Various systematic magic research was carried out in an orderly manner, and many people were gathering together to conduct very complicated magic experiments. Some boys and girls who were obviously apprentices were carrying boxes of various materials and walked past him while discussing. It was obvious that they were completely immersed in their own world.

It is obviously impossible for Fileta alone to complete such a transformation in such a short time.

Lid took a deep breath and followed these people. Soon he found that they had moved all the materials into a room. A rational voice soon came from the room:

"Just leave it here. You've done a good job. Go and inform the students in the special class to come to Room 3-2 tomorrow afternoon to listen to the lecture on the Philosopher's Stone. Other students are free to sit in. I will spend three hours teaching and one hour answering questions. Also, take my letter to Zhan Mei. The list of materials for next month has been listed in detail. Please ask her to prepare them before the end of the month."

The door opened, and the people who had been in charge of moving things came out and began to discuss things related to the Philosopher's Stone.

Lid eavesdropped on the side and learned that it was probably about engraving magic on special stones to achieve the effect of delayed release or triggered release. For example, if the magic of "explosion" was engraved on the stone and the trigger condition was set to "collision", it could be used as a killing weapon in war.

Reed looked inside the door and saw the tall woman wearing a magic hat at first sight.

The other party seemed to sense something and was about to bend down to take the materials from the box when he suddenly turned his head and looked outside the door.

Her body still maintained the bent posture, and her magnificent chest trembled naturally, as if trying to break free from the restraints of the magic robe. At that moment, Lid suddenly realized that the breasts being bigger than the head was not something imagined by some unscrupulous painters, but a real thing.

69. Two Results

The reason why Reed felt something was wrong was that the woman in front of him did not look like an ordinary person who was powerless.

But the problem was that he couldn't accurately tell the woman's realm. So he could infer that her realm could only be the tenth level, and in the Eternal Heaven Kingdom, the only magician at the tenth level, besides Merlin who had always hidden his strength, was Skadi, who was known as the "Most Magician".

Before Lid left Yunyang, this magician sent a letter to him, saying that she did not like Lid's mass printing of basic magic materials and extensive selection of people with magic talents from the public. She said that this was like drinking poison to quench thirst. However, Lid threw the letter away after taking a look at it. He thought to himself, "I don't care whether you are happy or not. Are you going to come to Lingyun City to beat me up?"

Unexpectedly, Skadi smiled slightly. I didn’t expect that I could really do it!

Only Lid knew the despair in his heart at that moment. Fortunately, Skadi didn't seem to have any hostility, otherwise her aura would have been more fierce, but at this moment she still looked calm, and the coldness in her words was probably just a matter of personality.

After a moment of silence, Skadi stood up first and frowned slightly:

"You are Lord Yunyang...Benefit...Benefit what?"

"Lidd."

Lid added. Skadi nodded and spoke as if talking to herself:

"Yes... Lide. When I came to see you before, you were not in Yunyang, so I stayed and planned to wait for you to come back..."

Skadi rubbed her smooth white forehead with the thenar of her right palm, thought carefully for a while, then raised her head and asked:

"What did I ask you to do?"

Reed was speechless for a while, and the air was filled with an awkward atmosphere for a while.

Fortunately, Skadi patted his forehead and finally remembered what he wanted to say:

"I remember now. When I heard that you had gathered all the people with magical talent in Yunyang together, I instinctively felt that this was not the way to do it... The inheritance of magicians from generation to generation has formed an existing system. For us, it is also part of our responsibility to teach what we have learned throughout our lives to new flames. But what you did is equivalent to taking all the flames buried among the people for yourself. It seems that you have created a more brilliant flame, but once this pile of flames is extinguished, the entire Yunyang will fall into a future of magic exhaustion."

Skadi's voice was not loud, and she occasionally gestured lightly with her white jade hands, trying her best to convey her thoughts to Reed.

But Skadi's memory didn't seem to be very good. Every time after she finished speaking a paragraph, she would fall into a confused state and it would take her a long time to remember what to say next.

There was no hint of blame in her tone, but perhaps because of the blessing of the tenth level realm, every word she said carried a natural deterrent. If her tone was a little heavier, the people who heard it would immediately feel suffocated.

Lid took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said to Skadi:

"Sit down and talk... Miss Skadi, I think you've got one thing wrong. We bring together a large number of people with magical talents, not to watch them die, but to keep them alive. To allow ancient magic to reappear in the world, and to allow humans to take the magic they can master a step further."

Skadi shook her head.

Her voice was full of determination, indicating that she did not believe a word of what Reed said:

"You bring them here and teach them all about magic. One day, you will let them go to the battlefield as magicians. They will die, perhaps for your own benefit, or perhaps for... Yunyang's future."

Skadi emphasized the last few words.

When she first arrived at the magic club, she asked those newcomers with magical talents whether they were captured. But their answers puzzled Skadi. No one was forced. They all gathered here voluntarily. When Skadi asked them what they wanted, they answered that they wanted Yunyang to have a better future.

So Skadi thought that Reed had brainwashed them.

Reed did not make any excuses, but just said to Skadi:

"Life is a chaotic world, and one cannot help but be infatuated. Miss Skadi, I have heard some stories about you. You are a great magician of the tenth level, and you have your own independent magic workshop, where you take in many homeless girls. All territories respect your ideas, and no one can threaten you, and no one dares to threaten you. You are free to do your own research and delve into the knowledge of magic day after day, but they cannot."

Lidd paused and continued:

"When Yunyang was in turmoil, they were the ones who suffered. When wars break out between territories in the future, they will also suffer. You said that if they hadn't become magicians, they wouldn't have to go to the battlefield and could have survived... Miss Skadi, you should go to the battlefield or go to a territory like Tiancheng. When the smoke of war rises, the place with the most deaths is not the battlefield, but those mountain villages and wilderness that you can't see."

Skadi was silent for a while.

Lid spread his hands and said to her:

"Of course, I can understand your thoughts, magicians. After all, in your eyes, inheritance is more important than human life. But in fact, we have divided these people with magical talents into combat, support and research types. Not all of them will go to the battlefield. Since you have been here for so long, you should also understand this."

Skadi said:

"I know, but I can't trust you. Human nature is always greedy. The more powerful you are, the more you want. You can talk a lot now, but if Yunyang is defeated again and again in the future, the support and research magicians will also go to the battlefield... You won't let them leave, and they won't leave Yunyang either."

On this point, Skadi seemed stubborn.

But Lid knew in his heart that there was nothing wrong with what she said. If it really involved Yunyang's life and death, he would naturally bet all his cards on it. Even if he didn't do that, those magicians would probably ask for it on their own. However, there was one thing that Skadi would not think about, that is, Yunyang would never go to that step, and Lid would naturally not give up because of the assumption of that day.

At this point, Lid did not intend to convince Skadi. He just put his hands on the table, looked at Skadi indifferently, and whispered:

"Miss Skadi, you are a stubborn person, and so am I. Now, unless I die, Yunyang can't disband all the magicians he has worked so hard to recruit. What's more, even if I disband them, they can't go back to their original lives... You can have different opinions, and this opinion will eventually produce two results. Either you give me a plan that I can accept, or you kill me and take them away."

70. Life is like a journey

Lid was not worried that Skadi would really attack him. On the one hand, Skadi was not a lone ranger like Garberd. She had her own workshop and would be more low-key and restrained in her work. On the other hand, Skadi's goal was to take away those people with magical talents from him. If she killed Lid for this, even if she could leave Yunyang, those people would not be able to leave.

Besides, although Lid had never fought directly with a person at the tenth level, he did not feel very scared. This was Yunyang's territory, and it was Yunyang's main city. His strength was already similar to that of the tenth level. With some protection, he could probably fight Skadi on equal terms.

"I've already thought of a plan."

Skadi spoke quietly to Lid:

"Half of the members of this magic club, go to my workshop. If you win in the future and they are no longer needed on the battlefield, I will bring them back to Yunyang. During this time, I will teach them magic-related knowledge, okay?"

Lid shook his head decisively:

"No."

He did not beat around the bush and said to Skadi directly:

"My people, as long as they are here, can continue to work for me and contribute to the development of Yunyang. Taking them away may give them a better future, but that will not benefit me or Yunyang. This period is a critical period for the development of Yunyang, and we are already short of manpower. You are going to take away half of them right away, which makes it very difficult for me to do what I want."

Skadi was silent for a moment, as if she had expected Reed to refuse, and she was not surprised or angry.

After a moment, Skadi said to Reed:

"I can stay in Yunyang... as a hostage."

Lid slapped the table, a gentle smile like spring breeze bloomed on his face, and he said cheerfully:

"make a deal."

I was afraid that Skadi would regret it the next second.

Skadi looked at the young lord who changed his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book, sighed, and said to him:

"I've seen what you want to build. There are generally two types of magic holy places, one is the [Great Library] for studying magic, and the other is the [Magic Workshop] for producing magic props. What you want is similar to the workshop, which is an area I am familiar with. However, I will not participate in the specific research and development. I will only take one to two hours a day to answer your questions. At the same time, I will not go to the battlefield for Yunyang. I don't belong to any territory. If Yunyang is destroyed, I will go somewhere else to start my life again."

Skadi spoke slowly, with an elegant demeanor, but what he said was very convincing.

Just like a queen who rules the country, she speaks in a gentle voice and has a friendly attitude, but her long-accumulated prestige makes people dare not ignore every word she says.

Reed agreed to everything without saying a word.

Almost no one with a high realm is willing to be someone else's lackey, so except for some death warriors trained by wealthy families, most of the Jianghu masters are only willing to be guests rather than guards. At the level of Qingyun, Garberd, Mr. Tingchao, Merlin, and Skadi, they are not even guests. Most of them will stay in a certain territory for personal reasons, but they actually have nothing to do with this territory.

But if they are willing to stay in this territory, people in the world will give them face and also give face to this territory.

Yunyang has never had a person at the tenth level. Although Lid himself is one, he is not the type to rush to the front when something happens. He did not expect that Skadi would be willing to stay in Yunyang. Even if she ate and drank for free and did nothing, Lid was willing to spend money to support her, not to mention that she was willing to take time to guide the magic club.

After the conversation, Skadi asked Lid why he studied magic.

Perhaps she was asking out of habit, but Lid's answer was serious:

"Well, I think there are purposes for all sides. In the long run, I hope that humans can master more lost ancient magics, because I have seen those things before and understand how terrifying they are. Naturally, I don't want such killing weapons to be in the hands of other races only. In the short term, we can't spend unlimited money on magic research, so we also need some practical results."

Lid gestured and said to Skadi with a smile:

"For example, I want a cylinder that's about this thin and this long... Soldiers can usually wear it on their waists, together with their long swords and short swords. When necessary, they can lightly press a mechanism to fire a flare into the sky or cause effective damage to the enemy camp. For another example, I hope to reduce the cost of enchantment so that magic props are no longer just high-end products that are worth a fortune. Soldiers can also have some inscriptions engraved on their swords and guns. Even if it's just a simple effect like armor-breaking or bleeding, it can ensure that our people's combat effectiveness on the battlefield is raised to a higher level."

Reed was talking to Skadi about his ideas for the future, and Skadi was listening silently without interrupting Reed.