Li Chengyi had always been cultivating and, in fact, did not have any friends.
Having trained his body to the limits of this world’s flesh and blood by the age of fifteen, the efforts he made were imnse.
Other peers his age were still not even up to the standards of common warriors, at best they were just little brats with a bit of adult strength.
They were still pursuing poetry and beautiful mbers of the opposite sex, and even the more precocious among them were rely grasping at life lessons taught by their elders with naive and clumsy understanding.
There was not a single one like him.
And this so-called friend was actually a book acquaintance made during a book auction. The two of them had nearly co to blows over a book, but the dispute was settled when the organizer ca up with a suggestion for them to exchange books and take turns reading, which quelled the quarrel.
Little did they expect that without even eting face to face, they grew familiar with each other by continuously exchanging books and sharing thoughts.
According to the description from this friend, she would also attend the salon in Viscount Tislan’s territory.
This made Li Chengyi eager to go in person to exchange more information, especially regarding mages.
’I’ve gathered nearly all the basic information around ; the largest knowledge system in this world must be held in the hands of mages. If I want to quickly integrate and reach a state of all-encompassing knowledge, I must acquire the accumulated knowledge from mages as soon as possible.’
In his current Primordial Spirit Sword Palace, the flas in the Sword Furnace were becoming hotter and more intense.
His extensive cognition of the world and research into various aspects had enabled him over the years to gradually construct a rudintary understanding of this world.
This was the construction of a worldview.
As this worldview was built, the flas within the Sword Furnace grew even fiercer, clearly indicating that he was on the right path.
But now, as the number of books dwindled and their content increasingly repetitive, the growth of the flas was slowing.
Thus, he urgently needed to open up new channels.
This salon was an opportunity, a chance to interact with mages.
Once he had set his goal, four days later, Li Chengyi took a carriage with a few Black Castle Guards and headed to Tislan.
After several days of arduous travel, they successfully arrived at the location where the salon was held—Fragrant Fruit City.
A small city known for its production of fragrant fruits.
The city, about the size of three small towns, was the most bustling area nearby, but for Li Chengyi, scenery was secondary; his key interest was in collecting books within the city.
After purchasing a few books he had not seen before, he rode in his carriage to a vast estate on the outskirts, where he attended the salon.
Nobles of various sizes brought their children to participate.
Carriages of different ranks parked in a row outside the estate, and the accompanying soldiers gathered in groups, drinking and boasting in the snow.
The firelight from the distant watchtowers added a glimr to the surrounding night.
Within the estate, nobles whom Li Chengyi did not recognize at all ca and went, their glasses clinking, talking about topics that he had no interest in whatsoever.
Since he was there just to fulfill an obligation and planned to et with that friend later, Li Chengyi couldn’t be bothered to engage, so he simply found a corner on the ground floor, sat down on the balcony, and leisurely sipped juice by himself.
Sounds of music constantly wafted out from the salon on the left, occasionally interspersed with the laughter of the guests.
Lively children ran back and forth, often causing mischief, then being scolded and ending up in tears.
The noisy sounds made Li Chengyi frown slightly.
He chose to focus his gaze on the night sky outside and soon dozed off.
Falling asleep at such a salon was undoubtedly rude, but he was only fifteen, still a child.
Children can always be forgiven, can’t they?
Yet as he dozed off, in the salon, a group of young n and won had already taken notice of him.
"Is that... Baron Carlos of the Okra Family??" a pretty girl clad in a beige dress and flesh-colored stockings asked curiously, sizing up Li Chengyi in a low voice to her companion.
"Yes, that guy who altered his family’s crest all by himself, I didn’t expect him to be quite handso," another girl in a green dress with freckles whispered, giggling. "He has a good build too... way better looking than Jane and the others."
"Hey, hey, can’t you compare others without bringing into it? Why does it have to be ?" Jane imdiately objected.
"Being well-built doesn’t an you can fight, can you guys look a little deeper? Isn’t it shallow to judge by a pretty face? Will a pretty face let the enemy spare you an extra sword strike on the battlefield?"
"He’s sitting all alone on the balcony, not bothering to mingle with us; clearly, he doesn’t care about us," another handso young man with a bookish air said nonchalantly.
He wasn’t wrong; that was indeed what Li Chengyi was thinking.
"But his physique is definitely better than yours. With that stature, if it really ca to a fight, you might not be able to hold your own," the girl in the beige dress said with a smile.
"Mina, do you hear yourself? Moreover, even if you complint him like that, he wouldn’t give you a second look. Most of the young people here are after Alice and her sister, right?" the handso young man remarked indifferently.
"Is it so difficult to admit soone is superior? You and Jane, are all you n so stubborn?" Mina frowned.
"I heard he likes reading and collecting books. If you’re interested, you could use that to strike up a conversation with him. See if he cares," the handso young man said lazily. "And you might just bring a real aristocrat into our youth circle."
Mina’s eyes suddenly lit up, and without a second word, she straightened her chest and walked towards Li Chengyi.
But soone was faster than her; Jane dashed forward in a sprint and stood in front of Li Chengyi.
"I heard Baron Carlos likes reading and is interested in things related to mages. I have a piece of Blue Star Stone here that mages love the most. It was a keepsake from my mother. I wonder if the Baron would be interested in a one-on-one dual with ?"
Li Chengyi’s eyes, which had been half-closed, snapped open, and he looked at the little boy who had suddenly rushed over.
He’s fourteen years old, with brown curly short hair and a very stubborn expression.
What does he want to do?
Co over here to get beaten?
Does he not see that my arms are almost as thick as his legs?
"Blue Star Stone?" Li Chengyi spoke up, "Are you giving a gift in disguise? Is there sothing you need my help with?"
In his view, the talk of dueling was nonsense; he could take on a bunch of kids like this one with just one hand, so this must be the boy’s way of giving him a gift on so pretext.
Jane, who had charged up here in a huff, regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth since he had also noticed the considerable girth of Li Chengyi’s arms.
But upon hearing these words, especially in front of the girl he secretly liked, his face flushed with blood.
"Are you insulting !! Insulting a future Knight!! I challenge you to a duel..."
Pfft.
His mouth was abruptly covered by a handso young man from behind, preventing him from uttering the last word.
"I apologize, he’s just drunk too much."
A group of young n dragged Jane away, forcibly covering his mouth to stop him from speaking.
Li Chengyi watched this scene speechless, and after glancing at the pretty girl beside him and understanding what was happening, he closed his eyes again, preparing to continue his rest.
"I don’t have books on mages, but griffons often roam my territory, they’re one of the favorite mounts of mages. It’s said that they also possess so magical spells. Would you be interested in that?" Mina suddenly spoke up.
At her remark, Li Chengyi’s previously closed eyes shot open, his gaze intense as he stared at her.
Researching the supernatural creatures that made up this world was undoubtedly a thod that could greatly accelerate his progress in igniting the Divine Fire.
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