181 Slap

Lin Yun would have loved to shoot that Frost Lance too… If he did, Dylan would look ten times worse than he did now.

But he had no time left...

A few mages had already walked over. There was Osul, Shadow Ashes Kave, who Jouyi had introduced earlier as Dylan's teacher, and several other mages at the peak of the kingdom.

"What's going on?" The 9th Rank Archmage who came over didn't have a good expression. Although Kave had already retreated from his seat as Council Chairman of the Ash Tower, he could still be partially considered a former master of the tower. How could he not feel embarrassed about what happened in the Banquet Hall?

"Teacher…" Dylan saw his teacher and respectfully greeted him.

Kave threw a fierce glare at Dylan. Although he didn't say anything, this expression alone showed how dissatisfied this 9th Rank Archmage was.

This was the Magic Hand's gathering, after all.

Countless peak mages of the kingdom had come to attend. But in the end, his only disciple wanted to show off and ended up almost losing to a 5th Rank Great Mage!

This also hurt his own reputation...

"What the hell happened!" Kave's expression grew even more severe as he said this.

"It's like this, Teacher…" Fear appeared on Dylan's face when he noticed Kave's extreme displeasure. He had been carefully serving under his teacher for a few decades and was now already the Ash Tower Council Chairman, but he still didn't dare to relax, afraid to anger Kave. Cold sweat dripped down Dylan's forehead.

He was even more cautious as he tried to explain, afraid of making a mistake. "That… That Great Mage Merlin was brought in from Thousand Sails City by Solomon. I already explained to him that today is the Magic Hand's gathering and that besides esteemed characters such as yourselves and your disciples, no one can casually join in. But he insisted anyways, and thus, thus…"

"Yes?" Kave's expression slightly alleviated when he heard this, thinking that Dylan had a reason at the very least and wasn't just bullying a 5th Rank Great Mage meaninglessly.

Otherwise, his reputation would take a huge blow...

A 9th Rank High Mage wanted to bully a 5th Rank Great Mage, yet failed miserably at it. If news of this spread, the Ash Tower would certainly lose some reputation.

But it was a bit different since he had a reason to make a move. In that case, Kave could step forward and deal with the matter.

"Is he right?" As he thought about that, Kave's eyes fell on Lin Yun. This time, his gaze wasn't just filled with dissatisfaction...

Lin Yun felt a bone-chilling pressure when Kave glanced at him, making it feel like he was in the middle of a snowstorm. He knew that this 9th Rank Archmage was already harboring some killing intent towards him.

"More or less." Lin Yun knew that facing this killing intent, he would neither have time to escape, nor an opportunity to fight back. He would be thoroughly crushed.

But this wouldn't happen here.

"Teacher, you see!" Dylan grasped onto his last hope. How could he easily let go when the other side was basically admitting to it? Dylan seemed delighted as he pressed his case. "He is too unbridled! Too condescending! How could I not try to put him in his place!"

"..." If there weren't so many people were watching, Kave would have already slapped him. At this time, Kave really wanted to ask Dylan if he knew that the reason for his actions wasn't the important part, but rather, the fact that he had failed?

'Do you have to talk if no one is talking? No one thinks that you are a mute!'

In the end, Kave simply ignored Dylan, his eyes focused on Lin Yun. "I shall remind you. This is the Magic Hand's gathering. Intruding upon this place means provoking the entire Magic Hand. Do you know the consequences of doing so?

"I'll be honest, you cannot afford to bear the consequences. And the family, clan or force behind you also cannot afford to bear the consequences…" After talking up to this point, Kave gave a disappointed look at his disciple. "Right, which force does that young Great Mage come from?"

"He is called Mafa Merlin, he comes from Thousand Sails City's Gilded Rose!"

"Very good, Mafa Merlin…" Kave chuckled, and was about to continue when he was suddenly stumped. "Hold on, Mafa Merlin?"

"Yes, Teacher, he is called Mafa Merlin…" Dylan nodded while smiling. One could tell that he was rejoicing from Merlin's calamity. 'How does it feel to be glared at by a 9th Rank Archmage?'

"Slap!"

But in the end, just as he was rejoicing, the sound of a loud slap echoed in the Banquet Hall...

"Teacher…" Dylan was foolishly covering his cheek while looking at his teacher with a confused expression. "Teacher… Why?"

"Mafa Merlin!" Kave was looking at Dylan with eyes that were almost emitting fire. And when he saw Dylan's confusion, Kave became even angrier. He raised his right hand, planning to slap him once again. But fortunately, he quickly remembered that there was quite the audience still looking at the show from the sides.

Thus, he lowered his already raised right hand...

But even so, Kave's expression was downright murderous he scowled at Dylan for no less than a minute. Kave then said, "Fuck off downstairs and check the guest list!"

"Yes, yes, yes…" Dylan didn't dare to raise his head as he awkwardly left, gloomily heading for the door.

Kave's furious expression still persisted even after Dylan left. 'That disciple is truly unable to accomplish anything, he only knows how to spoil everything. An esteemed 9th Rank High Mage was unable to defeat a 5th Rank Great Mage... That would already be disastrous for one's standing, but he hadn't even verified the identity of the person he was after. He is truly ruining my reputation…'

Who was Mafa Merlin?

He was a new member jointly recommended by Jouyi and Osul. One of the important points of the gathering was to vote on whether this young Great Mage had the qualifications to become a member of the Magic Hand. His name was clearly written on the guest list, and it was inexcusable for Dylan, as the host, to make such a low-level mistake!

Ordinarily, Kave wouldn't have gotten so angry about it.

But by coincidence, he had been the one who had argued against this recommendation the hardest.

In Kave's eyes, because that young man was only a 5th Rank Great Mage, regardless of how profoundly knowledgeable he was, regardless of how much he contributed to the Fanrusen Formula's research, his rank was set in stone. How could he be qualified to sit together with these numerous Archmages?

At that time, Kave even used Dylan and Solomon as examples.

He explained how Dylan and Solomon had sufficient magic-related knowledge and other qualifications as 9th Rank High Mages, yet they were unable to become full members of the Magic Hand because they had yet to advance to the Archmage realm.

But the argument he had just used… Was torn apart by Dylan.

How could this not make Kave feel angry and indignant?

Jouyi chose this time to walk up with a wide, comforting smile on his face. "Haha, Kave, it's a trivial matter, a trivial matter, no need to get angry over it…"

"..." Kave almost spat blood.

'Shit, do I need you to comfort me? If it had been Solomon instead of Dylan, would you still say it was a trivial matter? You might have gotten so angry that you would lift the Ash Tower…

'Moreover, you are the one who recommended this Mafa Merlin… Why are you saying those words now? What do you mean, "no need to get angry over it"... Didn't you come to watch me becoming a laughingstock?'

The more Kave thought about it, the more his blood boiled...

But he couldn't say anything back. Mafa Merlin had been recommended by two people, after all, and Kave didn't dare to offend both...

There was no need to mention Osul, as only a handful of people could afford to offend this Artisan. As for Jouyi… Even though they were all 9th Rank Archmages, Kave knew that there was a relatively wide difference in power between those in the 9th Rank. Jouyi had already touched upon the Extraordinary Realm and might be able to take the last step anytime. Even if Kave were more courageous, he wouldn't dare to become directly hostile with Jouyi.

This was a hot potato.

"Haha, it's nothing, it's nothing…" Kave chuckled as he suffered inwardly...

"Well, I'll take advantage of this opportunity to make an introduction, Merlin, come over…" Jouyi saw Kave's distorted smile and nodded, feeling quite pleased. He beckoned at Lin Yun, and after the latter drew closer, Jouyi solemnly introduced him. "In the past month, many people sent me letters, wanting to know how I managed to break through the Fanrusen Formula. Now, I can finally let everyone know that I wasn't the one who cracked the Fanrusen Formula, but rather, it was this young Great Mage, Merlin…"

"How could this be!" Jouyi's words created a huge stir in the Banquet Hall. Although many of them had heard rumors that this Great Mage Merlin had been in the center of the Fanrusen Formula's cracking, making a huge contribution, they had only taken them as exaggerated rumors...