The Energy Secret Medicine was ready.

The next day, Li Wei went to the Cultivation Secret Realm.

When he arrived at the Secret Realm Plaza, he was surprised to find it on high alert.

Mages stood guard around many of the Secret Realm Teleportation Gates.

Every so often, he saw Mages entering and exiting the Secret Realm Teleportation Gates.

The traffic was unusually frequent, a clear sign that something was wrong.

As Li Wei approached the Secret Realm Plaza, a guard Mage from the Elemental Tower stopped him.

"What are you doing at the Secret Realm Plaza?"

the guard Mage asked.

Li Wei presented his Cultivation Card and said, "I’m here to use the Cultivation Secret Realm."

He had only approached because he noticed the Cultivation Secret Realm was one of the few without any Mages on guard.

Otherwise, he would have turned back the moment he saw the Secret Realm Plaza was under lockdown.

The guard Mage glanced at the Cultivation Card in his hand, nodded, and said, "Alright, you may enter."

"For the time being, all Secret Realms except the Cultivation Secret Realm are temporarily closed," the guard Mage added as a reminder.

Li Wei asked, his curiosity piqued, "What happened?"

The guard Mage shook his head. "I’m not sure. I heard they’re looking for something. They’ve been searching for several days now and still haven’t found it."

Upon hearing this, a suspicion began to form in Li Wei’s mind.

"Found it!"

A Mage burst out of a Secret Realm Teleportation Gate, shouting.

Everyone turned to look at him, their faces filled with curiosity.

When Li Wei saw which Secret Realm Teleportation Gate the Mage had emerged from, his suspicions were confirmed.

’The Elemental Tower really is looking for the Legendary Witch Lich’s Life Box.’

He had told Lancelot that the Life Box was still in the Secret Realm.

Lancelot could either search for it himself or have the Elemental Tower do it. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Clearly, he had chosen the latter.

Li Wei wasn’t surprised.

The Secret Realms were the Elemental Tower’s domain, after all. As powerful as the Divine Hall of Light was, it couldn’t just meddle in their affairs.

The Light Divine Sect might be powerful, but the Elemental Tower was backed by the global community of Mages.

Once, Mages were capable of slaying gods and slaughtering demons.

Now, even though Mages had declined significantly, they were still one of the world’s premier superpowers.

While perhaps not on perfectly equal footing with the Light Divine Sect, they were at least a superpower of the same caliber.

And although many Mages were reluctant to admit it, they had a Magic Goddess watching over them.

This certainly gave Mages a great deal more confidence when facing the followers of a Divine Sect.

At least, they all had a god watching over them.

Li Wei glanced at the man and quickened his pace toward the Cultivation Secret Realm.

This matter was related to him, in a way, so it was best to steer clear.

Given that he had returned to the Elemental Tower without incident and no one had come looking for trouble, Li Wei deduced that Lancelot most likely hadn’t mentioned him.

This was good news.

He was desperate to keep a low profile.

Li Wei entered the Fire Element Cultivation Secret Realm and immersed himself in Cultivation for seven days.

He paid no mind to the tumultuous events of the outside world.

「Seven days later.」

The Fire Element formed words before Li Wei.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier Three)] 2023/10000

After seven days of arduous Cultivation, he had consumed all six medium bottles and four small bottles of Energy Secret Medicine.

Li Wei’s Mana had increased by a great deal.

’At this rate, if I have enough Energy Secret Medicine, I’ll only need to cultivate in the Cultivation Secret Realm for about sixty days to reach Tier Three Perfection.’

Without a Cultivation Card, as a student of the Red Level Class, Li Wei could only use the Cultivation Secret Realm one day a month.

Even after the year-end exam, upon promotion to the Purple Level Class, he would only be able to use it for fifteen days a month.

’In other words, even with enough Energy Secret Medicine, it would take at least four months.’

’But the problem is, it’s impossible to have a sufficient supply of Energy Secret Medicine.’

’Even if I juiced the entire Dragon Blood Tree and refined it all into Energy Secret Medicine, I still wouldn’t have enough for that many days.’

’Steal other people’s Cultivation time?’

Li Wei considered it for a moment, then dismissed the idea.

For one, he wasn’t that kind of person.

For another, he needed a significant amount of time. Robbing on that scale would easily land him in the Disciplinary Committee’s tribunal.

Robbing a small amount, on the other hand, would be pointless.

He might as well wait for the year-end exam in two months.

’I can’t rush my Mana Cultivation. I’ll just have to take it slow.’

’In that case, if I want to increase my strength, I’ll have to focus on my Magic.’

Li Wei already had a plan in mind.

After leaving the Cultivation Secret Realm, Li Wei discovered that the lockdown on the Secret Realm Plaza had been lifted.

The alert at the Secret Realm Plaza was lifted, but the entire Elemental Tower had gone on high alert.

As Li Wei walked along, he could feel the tense atmosphere hanging over the Floating Island.

People hurried past, their faces grim.

Having spent seven days in the Cultivation Secret Realm, Li Wei returned to his manor to rest and freshen up.

Upon learning of Li Wei’s return, Valen summoned him to his study.

Li Wei saw the bloodshot veins in Valen’s eyes and his unkempt hair, realizing his master had been under immense stress recently.

Valen said, "The Elemental Tower has officially entered a state of war readiness. The Undead in the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, which have been dormant for centuries, have suddenly become restless and are swarming toward us."

Li Wei asked, "Master Valen, do you know what happened?"

Valen glanced at Li Wei and whispered, "It seems to be related to the Witch Lich."

"I heard someone found the Witch Lich’s Life Box in a Secret Realm. The Life Box was empty and missing its lid, which was very likely the Stone Slab you picked up."

"The Witch Lich’s Life Box has vanished. Connecting that to the movements of the Undead from the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, it’s highly likely the Witch Lich is still not dead."

"Perhaps someone took what was inside the Life Box, and the Witch Lich is definitely trying to get it back now."

Valen didn’t suspect that Li Wei had taken the contents of the Life Box.

He assumed that someone else had opened the Life Box, taken what was inside, and simply discarded the lid within the Secret Realm.

And Li Wei had just happened to find it.

When Lancelot received the news, he had, for a fleeting moment, suspected Li Wei.

He suspected that Li Wei might have been the one to take the contents of the Life Box.

However, he quickly dismissed the idea.

Li Wei was only a Tier Three Mage; he lacked the power to open a Legendary Witch Lich’s Life Box and take what was inside.

Valen had the same thought.

Li Wei was too weak; it couldn’t have been him.

It was true that Li Wei lacked the power to open the Life Box.

Even at full power, he hadn’t been able to leave so much as a single Trace on the Stone Coffin.

But there was one thing no one had considered.

What if the Witch Lich had opened the Life Box willingly?

Such a possibility defied all common knowledge.

Any sane person would assume that no Witch Lich would ever willingly place its Life Box in the hands of another.

That would be like strapping a bomb to your chest and handing the detonator to your enemy.

In the eyes of any normal person, it was an act of supreme foolishness.

Something like that could never happen.

And yet, to the parties involved, it had been inevitable.

Li Wei had wanted to leave the Bone Palace.

The Witch Lich had wanted the Dragon Heart taken out of the Secret Realm.

Only then could it reclaim the Dragon Heart.

Their interests aligned, and a deal was struck.

"You don’t need to worry too much. The Undead pose no threat to the Floating City," Valen said reassuringly.

"It may look like just an island, but in a true combat situation, the Floating City is a mobile war fortress."

"And Mages are the most powerful weapons on this war fortress."