Jin Yan Province, Flash City.
As the central city of a baronial territory, Flash City is actually more prosperous than many central cities of viscountial territories.
Of the seven baronial territories in Jin Yan Province, Flash City of the Yanest family undoubtedly ranks first.
Whether in terms of territory size or economic strength, it is not much inferior to a viscountial territory.
Unfortunately, this also attracted the covetousness of powerful figures, making the baronial position easier for others to obtain.
Inner Castle, Bedroom.
After being dressed by a young and beautiful maid, Owen Yanest went to the dining room. He had just sat down and taken a sip of warm milk when the scribe hurriedly entered.
"Lord," the scribe bowed.
Owen nodded and said, "You seem to be in a hurry. What urgent matter has occurred?"
"I have a few things to report to you, sir."
"Speak,"
Owen said succinctly, without pausing his elegant eating.
Since inheriting the baronial title, he had become increasingly mindful of his aristocratic demeanor, striving to integrate into the circle of noble lords.
And thanks to his efforts, and more importantly, with the support of the Marquis of Golden Rock, many noble lords had already extended goodwill towards him.
Given time, his position within the noble lord circle would only become more secure.
And once everything was settled, it would be time to completely eliminate any remaining worries.
"Lord Zolf has sent a messenger, clearly stating that he will attend this year's harvest celebration in Shining City," the clerk reported.
Upon hearing this, Owen paused slightly, a knowing smile appearing on his slightly chubby face.
"It seems Zolf has finally realized the situation. Good. What did Norwood and Devon say?"
"They haven't agreed yet, but they haven't explicitly refused either. They're probably still observing."
A hint of contempt flashed in Owen's eyes: "Observing? Hmph, do they think those two little fellows can still return to Shimmering City? What a laughable idea."
The clerk smiled obsequiously: "You're right, sir. The two lords will realize sooner or later that you are the true master of Shimmering Territory!"
'The true master of Shimmering Territory.'
This title eased Owen's expression slightly, and his mood improved considerably.
"Speaking of which, what have my two nephews been up to lately?"
The clerk hesitated for a moment before saying, "I heard they're planning to reopen the Blackrock Mine."
"The Blackrock Mine?" Owen was slightly taken aback.
He had heard about what happened in Blackrock City back then and naturally knew about the situation in the Blackrock Mine. He couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.
"Do they have a way to deal with the monsters in the mine?"
"I'm not quite sure either." The clerk glanced at Owen and cautiously explained, "Blackrock City has sealed off the mine, and my men can't find out the specific situation there."
Seeing Owen frown, he quickly added, "Don't worry, sir, if they really reopen the Blackrock mine, my men will definitely get the news."
Owen thought it made sense and stopped pressing the matter, instead asking, "Is there anything else?"
The clerk hurriedly replied, "There's one more thing. Just yesterday, Earl Stormwind was attacked by the Starfire Cult while hunting and was seriously injured. Stormwind Territory is now in chaos."
Clang!
The crisp sound of knives and forks hitting a porcelain plate rang out.
Upon hearing this news, Owen instantly lost his previous elegance, put down his knife and fork, stood up, and asked solemnly, "Seriously injured? How badly injured?"
The clerk hesitated and said, "He's been unconscious for a day and a night and hasn't woken up yet."
Owen's expression changed slightly.
Judging from this, Earl Stormwind's condition was not optimistic.
Owen sat back in his chair, his expression shifting uncertainly.
He didn't care about Count Storm's life or death; he was more concerned about the aftermath of this incident.
Earl Stormwind is one of the two most powerful earls in the Golden Rock Province, second only
to the Marquis of Golden Rock. Unlike Earl Frost, who is close to the Marquis of Golden Rock, Earl Stormwind has always maintained a distant relationship with him, even appearing somewhat indifferent.
For the Marquis of Golden Rock, who is attempting to control the entire province, Earl Stormwind's existence is a significant hindrance.
Others may not know, but Owen knows that the Marquis of Golden Rock's relationship with the Starfire Cult is not simple.
The Starfire Cult had also played a role in his acquisition of the title of Baron of the Shining.
The Marquis of Golden Rock might be behind the attack on Earl Stormwind.
After a long silence, Owen said, "Continue to monitor the situation in Stormwind Territory. Report any intelligence to me immediately. Also, have Farid take men to the outskirts of Norwood and Devon's territories, ostensibly to suppress bandits." The
Golden Rock Province is becoming increasingly unstable, and Owen is no longer willing to wait.
He needs to gain complete control of the Shining Territory as soon as possible.
If Norwood and Devon still don't know what's good for them, then don't blame him for using other means!
Time flies, and it's now the Month of Resurrection (March).
More than ten days have passed since the discovery of Angle McKellen's laboratory.
Kee sold the Blackrock Iron in the warehouse through a secret channel, obtaining nearly seven thousand gold coins.
Apart from keeping some to purchase military equipment and improve the condition of his territory, he invested the rest in the reconstruction of the Blackrock Mine.
Everything is progressing in an orderly manner.
Su Nan doesn't care about these things.
After returning to Blackrock City, he, as always, devoted himself to studying and cultivating, paying little attention to the outside world.
After reading the books he brought back from the laboratory, Su Nan successfully triggered the learning progress of [Puppetcraft].
Compared to biological modification and potion making, puppetcraft has a wider scope and a higher threshold.
This skill not only includes enchanting knowledge but also encompasses a part of biological modification and magical item creation.
Therefore, the learning progress of the puppetcraft skill is slower.
Even with the boost from the secondary activating potion, after more than ten days, his learning progress had only reached a little over 10%.
Su Nan estimated that he wouldn't be able to fully master the puppet crafting skill until the Fiery Month (July).
On the other hand, his meditation practice went very smoothly.
Upon returning from the Blackstone Mine, Su Nan immediately used a synthesis cube to fuse three pieces of Spirit-Nourishing Grass.
Star-Patterned Spirit-Nourishing Grass, with a purity of 15.33%, greatly increases mental power after ingestion. The specific effect depends on the user's mental power; the higher the mental power, the weaker the effect. It is ineffective for those with a mental power of 20 or higher.
As expected, the star-patterned spirit-nourishing grass synthesized with the synthesis cube was more effective than the three pieces of spirit-nourishing grass combined.
After consuming the Star-Patterned Spirit-Nourishing Grass, Su Nan's mental power surged by 1.87.
roughly equivalent to two months of meditation.
Thanks to this, his mental power soared to 5.77.
The benefit of this surge in mental power was that his proficiency in the Star Ring Meditation Technique increased even faster.
Meditation increases mental strength, and increased mental strength, in turn, enhances meditation efficiency.
The two are inherently complementary.
Currently, Su Nan meditates for a day, increasing his proficiency in the Star Ring Meditation Technique by about 10 to 12 points.
At this rate, he should be able to construct his second Star Ring in seven or eight months at most.
"But actually, it can be faster."
"Blackrock City isn't under as much financial pressure anymore, so I can allocate more gold coins to buy materials to craft Lesser Active Potions, and then I can use cubes to synthesize even more effective potions."
"This way, meditation efficiency can be increased even further."