Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2723: The Spoils

The newly upgraded ship, the ’Void Wolf’, cut through Alliance space at warp speed, faster and smoother than it had ever flown before. Its engines roared like a predator in full stride, the stars stretching into streaks of light across the viewing screens.

This time, unlike before, there would be no need for clandestine routes or falsified identifications. The Prefect’s assistance had secured them official permits, stamped with neutral and Alliance seals alike. With that protection, the twenty-day journey back to Earth promised no unnecessary interference.

When he finally retreated into his personal chamber, a deep exhale left his lungs. The stop at Alfa Station had altered more than his immediate future. It had gifted him revelations, enemies, allies, and treasures he still had yet to fully grasp.

One by one, he drew them from his spatial storage. The light of spirit arrays reflected off metal, glass, and crystal, casting shifting colors against the chamber walls.

Two objects in particular pulse with their own radiance. Tier-seven artifacts. Rare, coveted, legendary. It would take effort and time to refine them for personal use.

Emery’s spirit sense brushed their cores and was immediately answered with surging power. [Fourfold Dawn] pulsed like a restrained sun, its edges whispering of brilliance. [The Seven Myriad Mountains Paintings], however, drew him in deeper. Layers of painted peaks shifted and breathed, and veils of mist revealed hidden landscapes. The artifact was less an object and more a living realm. Emery felt certain that within it lay profound mysteries—it might take months, perhaps even years, to uncover all of their secrets.

Reluctantly, he returned both to his spatial storage. For now, they would remain dormant.

Next, he drew out three tier-six artifacts: [Chromacircle Rings], [Stormrazor Staff], and [Wyrmheart Teeth]. The staff and the enchanted arrowheads he set aside—gifts to strengthen his companions. The rings, however, demanded his immediate attention.

Emery placed them before him: four slender bands, unassuming at first glance. Yet when infused with spirit essence, they expanded, each half a meter in diameter, orbiting him like a constellation of shifting prisms. Colors danced—earthy browns, metallic gleams, verdant greens, and flowing blues.

The artifact’s manual unfolded in his mind. One path was offense: the rings could fly as spirit weapons, cutting and crushing with elemental force. The other was restraint: each ring designed to seize and lock a target’s limbs, the combined strength of four elements subduing even the strongest foes. There were three layers of mastery; the first allowed individual control. The second wove them together in combinations. And the third promised full integration—a single artifact born of four, devastating in synergy.

Even for Emery, whose cultivation straddled multiple laws, refining such an artifact was no small feat. Hours blurred into a full day, sweat dampening his brow as he forced his spirit essence to fuse with each ring. At last, the first layer bent to his will. With a grin, Emery directed them outward. The four rings shot across the chamber, whipping through the air in tight arcs before returning to him.

"Good enough for now".

He withdrew them into his storage with a flick of his fingers.

The next trove came from his avatars.

The Dark Avatar had acquired a dozen ominous dark spheres—classified as consumable weapons—known as [Storm Orbs]. These were the very same items he had used to escape the Zephyr group and kill their magus. Each orb carried a devastating burst of destructive energy.

Unfortunately, after closer analysis, Emery discovered that nearly half of them were defective, rendered unstable during their production. His avatar had merely been lucky to pick one of the functional ones during the fight. Even so, Emery wasn’t particularly upset about losing what amounted to tens of millions of spirit stones on broken products. The sheer potency of the functional orbs was undeniable, and as an apothecary, the challenge of reconstructing and improving them sparked his curiosity. He had already begun drafting modifications, aiming to integrate their properties into his own creation—an upgraded version of the dreaded [Cthulhu Bomb].

Alongside them were stacks of low-grade sword manuals. The Dark Avatar had purchased them in bulk, no doubt still stewing over the humiliating loss to Draeven, the Frostblade corsair. Emery thumbed through them, finding little innovation but plenty of practice material. With diligence and training, these manuals would help sharpen his comprehension.

The Light Avatar’s acquisitions were more eclectic. Several bundles of rare wood-element materials, fragrant with life, perfect for nurturing the Elysian Trees.

The most curious item, however, was a massive feather fan—human-sized, tier-six, its once-pristine edges dulled. Emery frowned at the crude craftsmanship. As a wind-based artifact, its effectiveness was laughable.

Yet the fan was not without value. The reason it had been purchased lay within its structure—woven through the artifact were strands of [Aurelia Filaments], a rare and precious material. Emery’s eyes gleamed when he recognized them. These threads were one of the missing keys he needed to restore his [Icarus Wing]. If brought to a skilled master artificer, the addition of the Aurelia Filaments could enhance his tier-7 wings to new heights.

There was another item Emery could hardly wait to bring to a master artificer—the [Eurelith Stone]. This tier-8 material had the potential to enhance his weapons to top-grade quality and significantly increase his combat power.

Finally, Emery turned to the last two items.

One was the tome [Land Cultivation 101], granted by the Arbor Master—a seed of wisdom that would guide him in nurturing entire ecosystems.

The other was something altogether different: a crystal sphere known as a [Cosmic Relay], presented to him personally by the Prefect as a gesture of gratitude.

The Prefect had, in fact, gone further—granting Emery an honorary citizenship within Alfa Station. The title came with property rights in the upper levels of the station and certain privileges in its governance. Though Emery knew such residency meant little to his path, the true prize was this [Cosmic Relay]. While not as unique as tier 7 artifacts, the orb was highly prized and particularly expensive, for it allowed an exclusive two-way long-distance communication across the void.

With it, Emery could remain in contact with Alfa Station and, more importantly, with Linneaus. This meant that even far away, Emery could still contribute to the Arbor Master’s great project—and in return, receive guidance on deepening his cultivation of the Nature Law.

With so many new tasks, resources, and promises awaiting him, the twenty-day journey passed quickly—almost too quickly.

Until, at last, a voice broke through the silence of his chamber.

"Captain, we have arrived at our destination."