Li Wei prepared to return to Maple City.

The Dragon Corpse was too massive, making it difficult to transport from Maple City.

So, Li Wei planned to take the Little Bone Dragon directly to Maple City.

Once he obtained the Dragon Corpse and Dragon Soul, he would perform the Polluted Earth Rebirth Ceremony for the Little Bone Dragon and resurrect it.

Li Wei arrived at Valen’s estate.

Kuro, the Magic Butler, opened the door to welcome him.

"Mage Li Wei, are you here to see the master today?" Kuro asked.

Li Wei nodded. "Yes. Is Master Valen available?"

Kuro said, "Please wait a moment while I ask him."

The Little Bone Dragon had originally belonged to Valen, but Li Wei had turned it into an Undead creature without Valen’s permission.

Strictly speaking, he had encroached upon Valen’s property.

And now, he wanted to take the Little Bone Dragon away.

He definitely had to discuss the matter with Valen first.

It would be far too impolite otherwise.

After all, Valen was Li Wei’s mentor in name, and he had to be shown proper respect.

While Kuro went to inform Valen, Li Wei walked to the backyard to check on the Dragon Blood Tree and the Little Bone Dragon.

Having absorbed the Essence of Plants, the Dragon Blood Tree was growing vigorously.

The Little Bone Dragon also seemed to be in excellent condition.

It was overjoyed when Li Wei arrived.

Although it had no flesh on its face, you could tell from its dancing Soul Flame that it was happy.

Li Wei smiled and patted the Little Bone Dragon’s head without saying anything.

But a worry still lingered in his heart.

He was worried the Legendary Witch Lich had done something to the Little Bone Dragon.

To this day, Li Wei still hadn’t figured out the Legendary Witch Lich’s purpose for resurrecting the Little Bone Dragon.

He looked up at the sky. ’Maybe I should just ask him face-to-face.’

However, the Legendary Witch Lich seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.

He had never made direct contact.

The closest he had ever come was when he and Savinia fled back to the Thousand-Year Blood Pool.

Even then, Li Wei hadn’t been able to see the Legendary Witch Lich’s true face.

Although Li Wei suspected the Legendary Witch Lich was Torresta, he still wanted a definitive answer.

Until then, everything was just his own speculation.

Kuro found Li Wei in the backyard and said, "The master requests Mage Li Wei’s presence in the study."

Li Wei nodded. "Understood."

Knowing the way well, Li Wei quickly arrived at Valen’s study.

Hearing the door open, Valen put down his book, looked up at Li Wei, and smiled.

"Li Wei, I heard you took first place in the top mages’ exchange tournament."

Valen had been quite stunned when he heard the news.

But that shock quickly turned to pride.

Although he hadn’t taught Li Wei much, Li Wei was still his student in name.

Seeing his student achieve something so great, Valen felt immensely gratified.

He never would have thought Li Wei could actually take first place.

He’d heard from Harris that Li Wei’s victory had been a fluke.

But first place was first place, regardless of whether it was a fluke or not.

’If Li Wei can get first place even with a fluke performance, what’s the point of anyone else’s ’solid’ performance?’

In Valen’s eyes, Li Wei was simply the most outstanding student.

Li Wei smiled and said, "It was just good luck."

Valen shook his head. "A little humility helps one improve, but don’t be too humble. You must acknowledge your own abilities. Don’t attribute all your success to fate and luck."

He thought Li Wei had been affected by the "fluke theory" and was lacking confidence in his own strength.

Hearing Valen’s advice, Li Wei nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, I understand, Master Valen."

After a bit more small talk, Valen asked about the purpose of Li Wei’s visit.

Valen knew Li Wei wasn’t one to show up without a reason.

If he was here, he definitely needed something.

Valen said, "So, out with it. What brings you here this time?"

Li Wei said, "Do you remember the Little Bone Dragon in the backyard? I need to take it with me."

Valen was a little surprised, but he didn’t hesitate before nodding. "You can. The Little Bone Dragon is an Undead Creature you resurrected. It belongs to you."

Li Wei said gratefully, "Thank you, Master Valen."

Valen asked, "Where are you taking it?"

Li Wei replied, "Back to Maple City. There’s a place there that’s suitable for its growth."

Valen wasn’t very familiar with the situation in Maple City, so he didn’t doubt Li Wei’s words.

"The Little Bone Dragon may be weak, but it’s still a Bone Dragon. If you raise it properly, it will become quite powerful. Cultivate it well," Valen said.

Li Wei nodded. "Yes, I will."

After leaving Valen’s study, Li Wei went to the backyard and stored the Little Bone Dragon in his Beast Taming Ring.

He glanced at the tall Dragon Blood Tree but didn’t touch it.

He didn’t need to transplant the Dragon Blood Tree for now, and besides, he didn’t have a more suitable place to plant it.

It was better to leave it here for the time being.

"Time to go."

Li Wei left the estate and headed for the Teleportation Plaza in the Elemental Tower.

He would use the World Teleportation Array to return to Maple City.

This time it wasn’t for a mission, so Li Wei had to pay the teleportation fee himself.

The fee was a steep fifty Credit Points.

The equivalent of five thousand Gold Coins.

Fortunately, Li Wei had achieved a good result for the Elemental Tower in the exchange tournament.

After the tournament, the Elemental Tower had rewarded him with five hundred Credit Points.

Otherwise, he might not have even been able to afford the travel fare.

Li Wei glanced at the Floating Island suspended in the sky, then turned and stepped into the Teleportation Array.

’Time to go back.’

WHOOSH.

Li Wei vanished from the Teleportation Array.

A figure appeared in the Teleportation Array at the Maple City Mage Association.

The Mage in charge of maintaining the Teleportation Array saw the Grand Mage’s Magic Badge on the newcomer’s chest and was instantly filled with awe.

A Grand Mage was considered a powerhouse no matter where they went.

In a remote place like Maple City, the number of Grand Mages could be counted on one hand.

Even though Maple City had seen great development in recent years, the number of Grand Mages had still grown slowly.

Grand Mages had the ability to move to the Central Earth Continent for further development.

There was no need for them to remain in such a bitter, remote land.

Currently, there were only four publicly known Grand Mages in Maple City.

Torresta, Allen, the President of the Mage Association, and a reclusive Elder from the association.

As such, Li Wei’s status as a Grand Mage was exceptionally distinguished here.

"Respected Your Excellency, Grand Mage, welcome to the Maple City Mage Association."

"Mm."

Li Wei gave a slight nod, a polite response.

He stepped out of the Teleportation Array and walked away.

The Mage, who had kept his head bowed, cautiously glanced up at Li Wei.

When he saw Li Wei’s face, his expression turned to one of shock.

He recognized Li Wei.

Who was Li Wei? Just half a year ago, he had been a legendary figure in Maple City, hailed as the most powerful genius Mage.

Almost every Mage and noble in Maple City knew of Li Wei.

Even if they didn’t know him personally, they had at least heard the rumors about him.

Li Wei had already become an idol and a goal for the new generation at the Maple City Mage Tower.

His fame was immense.

What shocked him the most was that Li Wei had actually become a Grand Mage!

Everyone knew Li Wei’s story.

After three years of arduous training, he had barely managed to become an Apprentice Mage, only to have a sudden epiphany and advance by leaps and bounds.

Within half a year, he broke through two ranks, leaping from an Apprentice Mage to become the youngest and most talented Tier Two Mage.

He had earned the favor of the Elemental Tower and gone there to study.

How much time had passed since then?

And he was already a Grand Mage?