Chapter 015: Research

Although it was still early spring, the midday sun casting its light over the courtyard carried a somewhat scorching intensity. The flowers and plants in the courtyard appeared wilted under the harsh sun, though they weren’t yet dead.
At such times, though the sunlight was intense, the spring breeze blowing from all directions still carried a slight chill.
Du Fan stood in the courtyard, holding a cup of black tea and sipping it slowly, enjoying this rare moment of peace.
Last night, after returning to his courtyard, he still had a pile of tasks to complete. He stored the magic scrolls prepared by Chenchen, made a list of the magic materials she needed, and sent someone to the Mage Guild before he could rest.
These tasks might seem simple, but they were actually extremely time-consuming. He was busy until early morning before he could get some sleep—a rare pleasure since returning to the capital.
The waters of the capital were deep, but not deep enough to swallow one whole in one gulp. Before the old emperor died, he still had some time to focus on other things. Whether it was combat energy or magic, he needed to practice diligently in his free time. He also had to study the sacred texts sent by Anthony and the wind magic spells given by Edward—these were essential for both daily life and combat… Even alchemy needed to be explored, as he had now reached level five in both combat energy and magic, meeting the basic requirements to become an alchemist.
Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh again…
Though he wanted to focus on his studies, given the current situation in the capital, his wish was likely to remain unfulfilled.
With that in mind, he poured himself another cup of black tea and began sipping it slowly…
These black teas were specialties from the southern regions, said to be smuggled into the empire by certain merchant guilds from the Lanny Empire. Although they had been air-dried, their flavor was somewhat altered, yet they were still top-quality goods. His mother had sent them to him—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been eligible to enjoy them. It seemed he needed to find time to visit his mother soon…
As he was lost in thought, suddenly a deafening explosion came from deep within the ground—
“Boom—”

It seemed as though the entire world was about to split apart. Du Fan clearly felt the ground beneath his feet shake slightly, and the neatly arranged furniture in the room became disordered as a result. Then Du Fan saw a sudden flash at the entrance to the basement in the bedroom—two figures appeared there, with thick smoke billowing out. Chenchen and Lingsound rushed out of the room, their faces pale, and when they reached Du Fan, they still looked terrified. After running out, Lingsound glared at Du Fan, then silently grabbed the teapot he had set aside and started drinking from it without any courtesy. Chenchen, on the other hand, snatched the teacup from Du Fan’s hands, drank it all in one gulp without caring about anything else, and then shook her head, saying, “It’s over… completely over…” Du Fan frowned and asked, “What’s over?” Chenchen shook her head, frowning, and said, “Our basement is ruined… I finally understand that scepter you had me study—it’s definitely not that simple. I tried to use my mental power to probe its essence, but it exploded instantly, even destroying the three layers of magic shields I had set up… But thankfully, those shields were there; otherwise, this place would probably have collapsed already.” Du Fan laughed and said, “It’s just a basement. If it explodes, we can just build another one.” Chenchen glared at him and said, “What do you mean ‘build another one’? There are so many precious magic materials in that basement. If they’re all gone, I wonder what you’ll do!” As they were talking, a low dragon roar was heard, and then Isela climbed out of the tunnel, holding the Sacred Radiant Scepter in its mouth. Its body was covered in wounds of various sizes. As soon as it saw Chenchen, it flew over eagerly, dropped the scepter in front of her, and whispered, “Honorable and great master, Isela was useless. I could only retrieve this item. As for the others, they’re all buried underground; I’m afraid they can’t be found!” Chenchen snorted and said, “Why did you turn into a dragon? Do you want people to see you? And when did I say I only wanted this scepter? Listen, if you can’t find those items for me, don’t even come to see me!” Isela shrank back and whispered, “Yes, I’ll go right away, honorable master!” With that, a green light flashed around Isela, and it transformed into a small mini-dragon before flying into the entrance of the basement.

Du Fan couldn’t help but shake his head as he said, “Even if Isella isn’t the best, she’s still a dragon. How could you let her do such a thing…”
Chenchen replied calmly, “If he won’t do it, should I do it?”
Du Fan was speechless for a moment and could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
Seeing this, Ringo shook her head and said, “Du Fan, although I don’t want to get involved in your affairs, I still need to tell you… Keeping a dragon in this courtyard probably isn’t a good idea. What if outsiders find out…”
Du Fan and Chenchen exchanged a glance without saying anything.
Ringo then added coldly, “You two are both more capable than me. Can’t you tell that there are countless people watching this duke’s mansion day and night? If people find out there’s a dragon inside… You should know how valuable dragons are to humans. Dragon scales can be used to make armor, dragon sinews to make bows, and dragon blood, bones, and meat have many uses for alchemists in your Roland continent. But the most valuable thing is the dragon soul. It’s said that the highest level of alchemy—merging a soul into a weapon—can create legendary magic weapons. Even I know these things. Surely you two know them too?”
After hearing Ringo’s words, Du Fan sneered and said, “Even if those people find out, they wouldn’t dare come in and steal it, would they?”
Ringo huffed and stopped talking.
Chenchen thought for a moment before saying, “Ringo is right. Keeping a dragon in the human world isn’t a good thing. Dragons should return to their own world—that’s the right path. Perhaps… we should give Isella some choices.”
Du Fan nodded and said, “Isella was tamed by you, so it’s up to you to decide… Handle this issue yourself. By the way, what exactly is this Holy Radiance Staff?”
Just as Chenchen was about to speak, she suddenly frowned, grabbed the staff on the ground, and vanished into the room in an instant.
Du Fan glanced back and saw the guards from the duke’s mansion approaching. Although his courtyard was secluded, it was still part of the duke’s mansion, and the explosion earlier must have alerted them.
With that in mind, Du Fan quickly left the courtyard and dispersed the approaching guards, explaining that it was just a magician he had hired conducting magic experiments, nothing more.

All these guards knew that their third young master had recruited a magician a few days ago, so no one suspected anything else. Du Fan’s explanation wasn’t strange, but as the guards dispersed, their gazes toward Du Fan’s courtyard carried a hint of reverence. Du Fan inwardly marveled at how extraordinary the status of magicians was on the Roland Continent. After the guards left, Du Fan casually cast a few more spells, setting up several barriers outside the courtyard before stepping back in. Once inside, he found Ringtone gone, though thick smoke continued to rise from the entrance to the underground passage. Seeing Du Fan enter, Chenchen said indifferently, “I sent Ringtone down to help deal with that basement. She’s a shaman priest—she may not have many other skills, but she can restore the basement to its original state.” Du Fan nodded and asked, “What about Isella?” Chenchen replied, “I plan to send Isella back to Dragon Island. After all, I left a soul imprint on her, so I’m not worried she’ll run away. But we can talk about these things later. You should take a look at this first.” She pointed to the living room, where everything else seemed to have been thrown somewhere by Chenchen, leaving only a white stone platform. The Holy Radiance Staff floated quietly on top of it, emitting faint multicolored lights from its tip. At Chenchen’s gesture, Du Fan examined the staff closely and immediately sensed something different. During his battles with Ampere, he had seen this staff several times, but the multicolored light surrounding it had prevented him from seeing it clearly. Now that the light had dimmed, Du Fan could see the staff clearly. It appeared brand new, with no signs of wear. Though surrounded by faint multicolored lights, a layer of white glow emanated from its surface. The staff was made of an indeterminable material, emitting a soft glassy glow. At one end was a huge multicolored magic core enclosed in a metal mass shaped like outstretched wings, while the other end was extremely sharp, like a spike. The entire staff was covered in intricate magic patterns that made it unclear what its purpose was, but they were clearly exquisite, indicating it was no ordinary object.