Kui Mo, wearing a wooden lacquered mask and a black gauze robe, walked through the streets of Redemption Town, the various rune ornaments hanging on her body clanking against each other, emitting crisp sounds. The residents of Redemption Town around her were drawn by the noise and cast unfriendly and strange glances at her, which made her mood somewhat sour.
If she were in Kohor, anyone who dared to look at her with such disrespectful eyes would surely end up on her sacrificial altar, becoming her next offering.
However, even now, if someone openly disrespected her, she couldn't do anything, because the last person who tried to deal with these disrespectful individuals using the Kohor method had already been sent to Black Hollow, not as a researcher, but as the object of research.
It was precisely for this reason that she now somewhat doubted whether her decision to come to Westeros was a mistake.
In her opinion, as the only Shadowbinder among the mages following Lynd, she should have been given special importance, but from her life in Redemption Town these past few days, she was clearly treated as an ordinary mage, receiving no respect. So, she decided to stay a few more days, and if nothing changed, she would leave and not waste any more time here.
Soon, Kui Mo walked out of Redemption Town and headed towards the Tranquil Court, which was being built next to the Redemption Sanctuary.
Although Lynd, who was regarded as a magic prophet, didn't seem to value mages much in his attitude towards them, contradictorily, he was very attentive to the construction of the Tranquil Court. Not only did he set aside a large piece of land for its construction, but to speed up the progress of the Tranquil Court, he even specifically halted the construction of Summerhall Castle. All the craftsmen were transferred to the Tranquil Court, the building materials originally intended for the castle were moved here for use, and he also spent a fortune hiring more craftsmen from other places to join in.
It was precisely because of this that within just over ten days, the foundation of the Tranquil Court was already built, and the central hall and various main halls had begun construction. Judging by the progress, it would only take a year at most to complete.
When planning the Tranquil Court, Lynd also conveniently classified and categorized the entire mage system, something that had never happened before, just like the Basic Knowledge of Magic Holy Scripture currently being compiled.
Lynd directly categorized mages into two broad types: Black Magic and White Magic. And under the Black and White Magic systems, different factions were divided, with all factions serving as a separate branch of magic inheritance. For example, Kui Mo's Shadowbinder belonged to the Black Magic Academy, and because she was the only one, she naturally became the chief instructor of this inheritance branch.
As the chief instructor, what she needed to do was first establish the framework of her faction, such as finding suitable apprentices and so on.
However, what she needed to do now was to plan the architectural style, layout, and internal facilities of the Shadowbinder's academy according to the Shadowbinder's philosophy, and this was what gave her a headache, because all the craftsman scholars from Oldtown Citadel were stubborn. She had already expressed so clearly what kind of building she wanted, even drawing up sketches, but they still got it wrong, forcing her to tear down and rebuild. This made her have to supervise the craftsmen at the Tranquil Court construction site every day.
When Kui Mo arrived at the Tranquil Court in a bad mood, she was suddenly drawn by the commotion at the central main hall of the Tranquil Court, because many people were gathered there, including some instructors from magic branch factions like herself.
"What happened?" Kui Mo grabbed a Dark Warlock apprentice who was passing by and asked.
"Madam Kui Mo!" The apprentice was suddenly pulled off balance and was about to get angry, but when he saw that the person holding him was Kui Mo, his face immediately showed fear, and he bowed respectfully to Kui Mo, saying, "Lord Prophet, to expand the books in the library, has offered a reward. As long as the instructors of each faction can bring out their secret arts and put them into the library, they will receive a reward."
"What reward?" Kui Mo asked again.
"A Dragon Crystal Necklace with rune power," the apprentice said, pointing to the Stone Giant responsible for order outside the hall, "It's like the rune embedded in their armor, except this necklace doesn't create freezing power, but can calm the wearer's mind. Lord Ragaz, Lord Brum, and Lord Maroxin, have all tried it, and the effect is very good, capable of doubling the effect of meditation and prayer."
Hearing this, Kui Mo immediately let go of the apprentice's arm and walked towards the gathered crowd.
When she reached the outside of the crowd, she unceremoniously pushed away the people blocking her way. Those she pushed away were initially angry, but when they saw that the person who pushed them was Kui Mo, they all panicked and dodged away, patting the places Kui Mo had touched with their hands, as if the touched areas contained some malicious curse.
It was no wonder they were so startled; after all, Kui Mo, even if not the most powerful in the Kohor Mages Association, was definitely the most infamous. Those who opposed her, without exception, died terribly, a kind of death where they suffered for many days and begged for death but couldn't get it.
Soon, Kui Mo arrived at the center of the crowd. She saw a necklace placed on a stone platform, and Ragaz and others were gathered around. It seemed that all the instructor-level mages, except for herself, were already present.
Kui Mo didn't care that no one had informed her of this matter. She was more concerned about the necklace. Through the power of the wooden lacquered mask, she could clearly feel the powerful magic contained within the necklace.
"Can I try it?" Kui Mo stepped forward and asked Ragaz.
"Of course," Ragaz nodded.
Kui Mo unceremoniously took the necklace and put it around her neck. The moment she put on the necklace, she immediately felt her state of mind become unprecedentedly calm, and her mind also became very clear. This was a feeling she had never experienced before.
After trying it, Kui Mo took off the necklace and put it back on the stone platform, directly asking Ragaz, "How many secret arts do I need to offer to get such a necklace?"
Like Kui Mo, after experiencing the wonders of the necklace, all expressed their willingness to offer the secret knowledge of their respective magic schools for inclusion in the Tranquil Court Library, even if Lynd's condition was to offer all of it.
Under the heavy reward, the Tranquil Court's library rapidly expanded its collection of various magic books, which also caused a big problem: there was a large shortage of parchment needed for books, and the number of scribes was also insufficient.
Because the Tranquil Court was a whim of Lynd, he had no prior planning or preparation. All the parchment used for the Tranquil Court Library was originally prepared for Sphinx Academy to revise apprentice textbooks and books.
In addition, copying these secret knowledge involving various magic schools was completely different from copying ordinary books. Only people with a physique not easily affected by magical power were qualified to copy this magical knowledge; otherwise, ordinary people would be killed within a day or two by the secret knowledge containing various curses and unknown powers.
After understanding the situation, Lynd had no choice but to bring out papermaking and printing technology early.
In fact, a long time ago, Lynd had considered bringing out papermaking and printing to increase his strength, but considering the potential negative reactions from the Citadel, he chose to temporarily keep these two powerful weapons hidden.
But the situation was different now. Given Lynd's current overall strength, he no longer needed to worry about the Citadel's negative reactions. It was just that they had been sealed for too long, making him forget about these two powerful weapons until problems arose in the Tranquil Court Library, which made him remember and bring them out for use.
"These are very mature technologies!" After calling Moroa from Black Hollow, Lynd handed her the parchment recording the methods of printing and papermaking. She casually glanced at it twice and immediately saw the clues, confirming to Lynd, "My Lord, you had already mastered these two technologies a long time ago, but you kept them hidden because of the Citadel, right?"
Lynd nodded.
"Why are you bringing them out now?" Moroa asked again.
Lynd told Moroa about the situation in the library.
Moroa listened, then shook her head and said, "If you were to follow my advice, I would tell you to keep these two technologies sealed until you completely control the Seven Kingdoms, or even just half of the Seven Kingdoms, just as you control Summerhall. Then it would be more appropriate to bring them out."
"Am I still afraid of the Citadel's threat with my current strength?" Lynd frowned and said, "I built Sphinx Academy in Miracle Port, and the Citadel's reaction wasn't too intense..."
"Sphinx Academy is completely different from this," Moroa said in a deep voice, "I've seen the curriculum of Sphinx Academy. It trains the low-level officials we need. No matter how many it trains, it won't have much impact on the Citadel. For example, if there are two choices: one is a Citadel Maester wearing a gold chain, and the other is a financial talent trained by Sphinx Academy, and you need to choose one to be a local finance officer, who would you choose?"
Lynd didn't give an answer, just smiled, because the answer was obvious: the Citadel's Maester undoubtedly had too many advantages.
"So Sphinx Academy poses very little threat to the Citadel. Although the Citadel resents it, they haven't said much due to your prestige," Moroa said solemnly, "But these two technologies you're bringing out now are different. They are digging at the very foundation of the Citadel. Once these two technologies spread, it will be a devastating blow to the system the Citadel has maintained for thousands of years. The Citadel will certainly not let it develop unchecked; they will definitely try to stop this frantically."
Lynd's expression also became serious, and he asked, "What can they do to stop it? Incite the Seven Kingdoms to attack me together?"
"They don't need to use the power of the Seven Kingdoms," Moroa shook her head and said, "I know many secrets are hidden in the Citadel, and many dangerous forbidden powers are also hidden. Perhaps these things cannot harm you, but I am certain that the people around you will definitely not be able to withstand them."
Hearing Moroa's words, Lynd was silent for a moment, then seemed to think of something and laughed, "I'm so foolish! I just want to use papermaking and printing. I don't need to spread them myself!"
Moroa looked at Lynd and said, "Once you bring something out, whether it spreads or not should not be something you can control. I just looked at these two technologies; the principle is very simple. Anyone with a little experience can reproduce them. How can you guarantee that the people involved in this matter won't spread them? Are you going to make them all undergo loyalty trials?"
Lynd smiled and said, "You misunderstood. What I mean is not to prohibit the spread of these two technologies, but to hand them over to others to spread. When these two technologies have already spread, I will use them, and I imagine the Citadel shouldn't bother me then!"
Moroa was stunned by his words. She clearly understood how valuable printing and papermaking were, so she instinctively thought Lynd wanted to grasp these two technologies and gain the maximum benefit before they leaked out. Therefore, she never thought that Lynd didn't care about the profits brought by these two technologies at all.
After regaining her composure, Moroa curiously asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "What do you think about distributing a dozen copies of the technical data to every city in Westeros and Essos?"
"I'll mourn for the Citadel," Moroa said no more, turning to leave, but at the door, she came back and said, "Issue me a reading authorization for the Tranquil Court Library. I want to go there and see if there are any books I haven't read."
Lynd did not refuse and quickly issued an authorization. Before Moroa left, he instructed again, "Don't casually agree to bring people into Black Hollow, and don't say anything about Black Hollow."
"Understood," Moroa replied without looking back.
After Moroa left, Lynd immediately summoned Baelon, the Chief of Intelligence, and Rosso Brun, the commander of the Blood Armor, entrusting them with the task of spreading printing and papermaking, and repeatedly emphasizing that the origin of these two technologies from Summerhall must not be leaked.
As the two were about to leave, Baelon suddenly stopped and turned to ask Lynd, "My Lord, what should we do with the members of House Soyid who have been under house arrest?"
It had been over a month since House Soyid was escorted to Redemption Town. All the servants, maids, employees, and others who had no direct or indirect blood or kinship with House Soyid were arranged by Lynd throughout Summerhall. Some went to Red Guard City to farm, some went to Ridge City to build roads, some were assigned to the Miracle Port barracks as laundry and cooking servants, and some passed the test and became servants for various officials or administrative departments of Summerhall. There were also some who joined the Chosen Legion.
Only the members of House Soyid were not dealt with, but were kept under house arrest in the prison on the outskirts of Redemption Town, guarded by Baelon's intelligence department. While guarding them, they continuously extracted a large amount of intelligence about the various city-states and kingdoms of Essos, as well as the secrets of House Soyid, from these people.
"Has the interrogation of their family been completed?" Lynd asked.
"It has been completed," Baelon replied.
Lynd was silent for a moment, then said, "Bring Kos Soed!"
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