A few days later, the smell of blood at Baiyan Mine seemed to have been blown away by the mountain wind, but the traces left and the shock caused were like giant stones thrown into the lake, ripples spreading to several surrounding cities.

In taverns, markets, Commerce Association lounges, and even at the nobles' dances, people were eagerly discussing the feat that had occurred at Baiyan Mine.

The Four Gods Sect and the Light Sect were certainly doing their utmost to promote the event, as this effort to eliminate the threat of the Shadow Council would greatly enhance their reputation among the populace, allowing them to recruit more followers.

The Four Gods Sect and the Light Sect were efficiently operating their respective propaganda machines.

They spared no effort in promoting this glorious victory, focusing entirely on the united eradication of the Shadow Council's evil stronghold and the rescue of the enslaved innocent civilians.

Many civilians rescued from the mine were deeply grateful to the sect and became loyal adherents.

As for how the benefits of Baiyan Mine were to be distributed, only the high-ranking members within the sects knew.

Duke had returned to his small shop, having just finished refining a Magic Potion, and he lay comfortably in the courtyard, a teapot steaming beside him, likely ready for a hot brew shortly.

He probed the state of the Yellow Sand Crystal with his Spiritual Power; it already contained 120 tons of yellow sand enhanced by Magic Metal, essentially restoring to its previous state.

This amount of Magic Metal was negligible for the entire mine area, and even if the sect people discovered something unusual, they couldn't link it to him.

...

Robert visited the Star Embers shop again, mainly to purchase some Magic Potions.

Because of his relationship with Duke, he could purchase more Magic Potions without too many quantity restrictions.

Of course, he couldn't buy in bulk, just a bit more than usual.

Robert learned of the Baiyan Mine incident in recent days, and through player channels, he obtained more specific information.

Unlike the civilians of Azure Vault City, who only knew the outcome from beginning to end.

Being the one who orchestrated the release of information, Robert naturally knew how the Four Gods Sect and Light Sect obtained the news.

His only confusion was why Duke did it, what his purpose was.

If it was merely to inform the sect, given Duke's relationship with the Holy Daughter Dali, there was no need to go such a roundabout way, he could directly inform the people of the Light Sect.

Duke must have had a purpose, but Robert thought for a long time without understanding what Duke had achieved with this incident.

The whole thing from start to finish seemed unrelated to Duke; he seemed not to have participated, making it somewhat puzzling.

These days, many players who joined the Shadow Council were caught, their accounts effectively rendered useless.

These players didn't have such strong willpower; even if the pain was reduced, they couldn't bear the punishment methods.

This was not only physical pain but also mental torture.

Since the game couldn't completely eliminate pain signals, there was always some sense of pain.

Players knew fully well that they couldn't leave prison even if they confessed to anything.

Moreover, knowing the sect couldn't kill these god-given people, they wouldn't simply execute them, instead imprisoning them indefinitely.

These players had only one choice, to quit the game.

Unless they could wait until the day they were rescued, every login was just imprisonment, the game effectively becoming a prison simulator.

Seeing the plight of these imprisoned players, many carefully reconsidered joining the Shadow Council, as it seemed very risky.

Robert came to the shop and, seeing Duke not inside, knew Duke was in the backyard.

With Duke's Spiritual Power, he didn't need to constantly guard the shop; his Spiritual Power could cover the entire shop area.

Robert went to the courtyard and respectfully said, "Lord Duke, I'm planning to buy ten Swift Potions and ten Magic Activation Potions."

He was essentially preparing these Magic Potions for members of his team; nurturing a group wasn't that simple.

The Magic Potions here at Duke's, though a bit more expensive, were indeed of high quality, much better compared to other places.

Furthermore, Robert believed that frequent purchases could increase favor or affinity, so he never spared any money here.

"Hmm, alright." Duke waved his hand, and a batch of Magic Potions appeared on the table.

Robert, quite familiar with the process, soon placed over six thousand Magic Crystal Stones on the table, all stored in a large sack.

These Magic Crystal Stones were collected with a significant amount of real money from other players.

Recently, many players discovered Duke's shop, but as the Magic Potions sold there could only be purchased with Magic Crystal Stones, and the prices were too high, they had to give up.

Others saw Duke's level and speculated there might be some hidden quests, frequently coming to test their luck.

Many players even feigned admiration and loyalty, but Duke, having played more games than these players had, dismissed them all.

For these unstable players, Duke wouldn't say a word more, nor disclose any of his own information.

He required Robert to act likewise, and Robert naturally would keep secrets, wishing to be the sole person knowing Duke's matters.

"Robert, if you can help me collect enough Magic Spells, I could give you a special reward," Duke thought and said.

His Spiritual Power had reached 86, not far from 100, and Spiritual Power compression was ongoing.

Duke needed some easy-to-cast minor Magic through grinding these Magic to max level to earn free attribute points, increasing Spiritual Power faster.

He still had many Magic not at max level, like Tornado, Fireball Technique, etc.

However, these Magic were too showy, unsuitable for quietly grinding proficiency, unlike minor Magic in this world.

Such as Holy Healing Technique, Lighting Technique, etc., causing minimal disturbance with quick spell casting.

Duke increasingly felt spells were like predefined rules by some group; newcomers only needed to use them, with low entry difficulty.

This allowed Casters quicker entry and mastery of Magic Power.

But correspondingly, the convenience of spells also imposed limitations, making Mages' research into the essence of Magic Power not deep enough, with insufficient upper limits.

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