## Chapter 15: Undercurrents
Shining Light City, Golden Rock Province.
As the central city of a Baron’s territory, Shining Light City was actually more prosperous than the central cities of many Viscount’s territories.
Among the seven Baron territories in Golden Rock Province, the Arnest family’s Shining Light territory undoubtedly ranked first.
Whether it was the size of the territory or economic strength, it was not much inferior to a Viscount’s territory.
Unfortunately, this also attracted the covetous eyes of powerful figures, making the Baron’s position easily contested.
Inner Keep, Bedroom.
After getting dressed with the help of a young, beautiful maid, Owen Arnest came to the dining room. He had just sat down and taken a sip of warm milk when he saw the clerk rushing in.
“My Lord.” The clerk bowed deeply.
“There are a few things I need to report to you.”
“Speak.”
Owen was concise, his hands didn’t stop their elegant eating motions.
Since ‘inheriting’ the Baron’s position, he had paid more attention to his aristocratic etiquette, trying to blend into the circle of noble lords.
And under his efforts, more importantly, with the support of the Marquis of Golden Rock, quite a few noble lords had shown him goodwill.
Given time, his status in the noble lord’s circle would only become more stable.
And when everything settled down, it would be time to completely solve his worries.
“Lord Zolf sent a message, explicitly stating that he will attend Shining Light City’s Harvest Celebration this year,” the clerk said.
Hearing this, Owen paused slightly, a knowing smile appearing on his chubby face.
“It seems Zolf has finally come to his senses. Good. What about Norwood and Devon?”
“They haven’t agreed, but they haven’t explicitly refused either. They’re probably still watching.”
A hint of disdain flashed in Owen’s eyes: “Watching… humph, do they think those two kids can return to Shining Light City? What a ridiculous idea.”
The clerk flattered him with a smile: “My Lord is right. The two Lords will sooner or later realize that you are the true master of Shining Light territory!”
‘The true master of Shining Light territory.’
This title made Owen’s expression soften, and his mood brightened.
“Speaking of which, what are my two nephews doing lately?”
The clerk hesitated, then said, “I heard they are planning to restart the Blackstone Mine Area.”
“Blackstone Mine Area?” Owen was slightly taken aback.
He had heard about what happened in Blackstone City back then, and naturally knew about the situation in the Blackstone Mine Area. He couldn’t help but show a confused expression.
“Do they have a way to deal with the monsters in the mine?”
“I’m not sure about that either.” The clerk glanced at Owen and explained cautiously, “Blackstone City has blocked off the mine area. My people can’t get any information about the specific situation there.”
Seeing Owen frown, he quickly added, “Don’t worry, my Lord. If they really restart the Blackstone Mine Area, my people will definitely get the news.”
Owen thought about it, and no longer dwelt on this matter. He turned to ask, “Anything else?”
The clerk quickly replied, “There is one more thing. Yesterday, Earl Storm was attacked by the Starfire Sect while hunting. He was seriously injured and Storm Territory is in chaos now.”
Clang!
The sharp sound of a knife and fork touching the porcelain plate echoed.
Upon hearing this news, Owen lost his previous elegant demeanor. He put down his knife and fork, stood up, and asked with a serious expression, “Seriously injured? How serious?”
The clerk hesitated: “He has been unconscious for a day and a night. He hasn’t woken up until now.”
Owen’s face changed slightly.
From the looks of it, Earl Storm’s situation wasn’t optimistic.
Owen sat back down, his expression changing constantly.
He didn’t care about Earl Storm’s life or death. He was more concerned about the subsequent impact of this event.
Earl Storm was one of the two powerful Earls in Golden Rock Province, second only to the Marquis of Golden Rock.
Unlike Earl Winterfrost, who had a close relationship with the Marquis of Golden Rock, Earl Storm had always kept his distance from the former, even being considered somewhat indifferent.
For the Marquis of Golden Rock, who sought to control the entire Golden Rock Province, the existence of Earl Storm was quite an eyesore.
Others might not know, but Owen knew that the Marquis of Golden Rock and the Starfire Sect weren’t simple acquaintances.
He was able to seize the position of Baron Shining Light with the help of the Starfire Sect behind the scenes.
There might be the shadow of the Marquis of Golden Rock behind Earl Storm’s attack…
After a moment of silence, Owen said, “Keep an eye on the situation in Storm Territory, and report any information to me immediately. Also, let Faride lead a group of people to the border of Norwood and Devon’s territories, just under the guise of suppressing bandits.”
Golden Rock Province was becoming increasingly restless. Owen didn’t intend to wait any longer.
He needed to fully control Shining Light Territory as soon as possible.
If Norwood and Devon still refused to be sensible, then he wouldn’t blame himself for resorting to other means!
Time flew by, and it was now the Month of Revival (March).
More than ten days had passed since the discovery of Ange Mclain’s lab.
Kei sold the Blackstone iron in the warehouse through a secret channel, earning nearly seven thousand gold coins.
Apart from leaving a portion for purchasing military equipment and improving the territory’s condition, the rest was invested in the reconstruction of the Blackstone Mine Area.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
Su Nan wasn’t concerned about these matters.
After returning to Blackstone City, he remained focused on his studies and cultivation, paying little attention to outside affairs.
After reading the books he brought back from the lab, Su Nan successfully triggered the learning progress of 【Puppetry Refining】.
Compared to Bio-Modification and Potion Making, Puppetry Refining had a wider scope and higher threshold.
This skill not only included enchantment knowledge but also encompassed parts of bio-modification and magical item creation.
Therefore, the learning progress of Puppetry Refining was much slower.
Even with the boost from the Lower-Grade Revitalization Potion, after more than ten days, the learning progress had only advanced to just over 10%.
Su Nan estimated that he would need to wait until the Month of Fire (July) before completely mastering the Puppetry Refining skill.
On the other hand, meditation cultivation was going smoothly.
Upon returning from the Blackstone Mine Area, Su Nan immediately fused three Spirit Nourishing Herbs using the Synthesis Cube on the same day.
【Starweave Spirit Nourishing Herb, purity 15.33%, consuming it can significantly increase spiritual power. The specific effect depends on the user’s spiritual power. The higher the spiritual power, the weaker the effect. Ineffective for those with spiritual power of 20 or above (inclusive).】
As expected, the Starweave Spirit Nourishing Herb synthesized using the Synthesis Cube was even more effective than the three Spirit Nourishing Herbs added together.
After consuming the Starweave Spirit Nourishing Herb, Su Nan’s spiritual power directly surged by 1.87.
That was roughly equivalent to the results of two months of meditation.
Thanks to this, his spiritual power shot up to 5.77.
And the benefit of his spiritual power surge was that the proficiency of the Star Ring Meditation Method increased faster.
Meditation increases spiritual power, and spiritual power increases in turn improve meditation efficiency.
The two were mutually reinforcing.
Now, Su Nan could increase the proficiency of the Star Ring Meditation Method by about 10 to 12 points per day of meditation.
At this rate, it should take him no more than eight months to build the second Star Ring.
“But it could actually be faster.”
“Blackstone City’s financial pressure is no longer significant, and we can set aside more gold coins to buy materials to make Lower-Grade Revitalization Potions. Then, I can synthesize potions with even better effects using the Cube.”
“This way, meditation efficiency can be further improved.”