A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Hua Mi took the modified Blood Cyan Crystal from the blacksmith.

It was almost unrecognizable now.

Some finely crafted metal parts were welded onto it, so intricate that they reminded Hua Mi of certain electronic components on Earth.

It had been melted into a slender tubular shape, with metal "caps" on both ends, and a very thin metal wire extending outward.

The blacksmith explained that by applying lightning power from one end, the crystal would release a plundering field. Conversely, applying an equal amount of reverse lightning power from the other end would return the plundered attributes.

At present, this crystal was in a "saturated" state from plundering.

It couldn't perform the plundering action again.

The only option was to apply voltage from the other end to release its characteristics.

Hua Mi was intrigued.

Because next, he could test his bold idea!

Controlling two bees, Hua Mi let a Cyan Flame Bee and a Great Force Bee fly out.

Then, he instructed the blacksmith to electrify the crystal.

After applying reverse voltage from the other end, the crystal immediately released an energy field.

It looked almost identical to the previous plundering field, but upon mental probing, Hua Mi sensed that the natures of the two fields were opposite, akin to having an additional negative sign.

First, he let the Great Force Bee enter the magical energy field.

As expected, the distorted bloodlines showed no response to it.

This was within Hua Mi's expectations.

The entire process was completely inverse; if the attributes of the Cyan Flame Bee were plundered, they could only be returned to the same type of bee; otherwise, it would disrupt the balance.

Hua Mi promptly retrieved the Great Force Bee and replaced it with the waiting Cyan Flame Bee.

Sure enough, as soon as this Cyan Flame Bee entered the magical field, the bloodlines immediately converged towards it, penetrating its body.

The Cyan Flame Bee was enveloped in a ball of red light.

Hua Mi sensed the state of the Cyan Flame Bee.

Some of its attributes, including the special ability to produce flames, were gradually strengthening...

"Success!"

Even with the calming robe, Hua Mi couldn't contain his excitement.

Absorb the attributes of one bee and transfer them to another of the same type to obtain a stronger, enhanced bee - that was the template for a new bee species!

It was bound to be stronger than the original species!

Although the process of absorbing and releasing attributes wasn't a 100% conversion, there was a certain loss in between. Yet, the enhancement for the bee species was already remarkable.

This was a "Bee Amplifier"!

Hua Mi was overjoyed.

Suddenly, a "crack" sound.

The Bee Amplifier cracked open with a few fissures; the residual bloodlines inside were almost nonexistent, only some remnants remained.

As the crystal cracked, the process of attribute enhancement came to an abrupt halt.

This was also within their expectations.

The blacksmith had already informed him that this amplifier could only function once; it was disposable.

Plundering and releasing might sound easy, but it was a significantly potent process. The two opposing magical fields exerted tremendous pull on the crystal. With its strength, it could withstand such intensity only once.

But that was fine; his Vampire Bee could continue producing Blood Cyan Crystals.

For every crystal produced, one enhancement could be made.

Not bad at all!

Although the crystal had shattered, the amplification had been completed this time.

Hua Mi immediately examined the state of the Cyan Flame Bee after amplification.

At this moment, the bee was encased in a cocoon woven from blood silk, invisible to the naked eye.

But Hua Mi could sense the bee's vitality inside - it was significantly stronger than a regular Cyan Flame Bee!

If this continued...

Hua Mi's blissful thoughts for the future were suddenly interrupted.

He sensed that something was amiss.

"Wait..."

Before he could react, a pale blue flame suddenly burst out of the cocoon, instantly incinerating it.

The flame didn't disappear; it continued to spew out powerfully.

Yes, it wasn't just burning quietly; it was forcefully jetting out.

At this moment, when Hua Mi tried to sense the Cyan Flame Bee inside, he found that it had lost control.

The intense Cyan Flame continued to burn for over ten seconds.

When the flames finally vanished, the Cyan Flame Bee inside had turned into ashes.

"..."

Hua Mi's current mood was akin to when an equipment enhancement failed and shattered in a game.

He recollected the process and conducted a review.

Amplifying the bees this way was feasible. However, like ingesting a Mutation Elixir, there was a possibility of failure in amplification—

He could clearly sense this during the amplification of the Cyan Flame Bee: at a certain stage, whether the amplification of the bee could stabilize was purely a matter of probability.

In reality, the loss wasn't substantial. It was just two bees plus a Bee Amplifier.

When the Vampire Bee produced more Blood Cyan Crystals - perhaps by accumulating a few more - he could conduct bee amplifications together.

...

At this point, his purpose for coming to the Brass City had been fulfilled.

He had understood the function of the Blood Cyan Crystal.

And there were unexpected gains.

One of these unexpected gains was the awakening of the Flower Spirit Little White's "Fire God Form."

The second unexpected gain was the establishment of a completely new path for bee amplification.

Before departing, both Fire Kings came to bid him farewell.

The other Fire King was a tall, slender cylinder.

The two kings didn't see eye to eye, communicating only through a brass board, keeping their interaction to a minimum.

That was the legendary "Kings Unseen."

Regarding the cause of the "war" between both sides, Hua Mi roughly understood it from the canned explanation.

In simple terms, one side wanted to build the temple according to the original format, while the other sought innovation.

When persuasion failed, they resorted to fighting.

Both Fire Kings asked Hua Mi, as the Swordbearer, to make a decision for them.

Hua Mi didn't want to meddle in their affairs.

He had figured out that both kings were troublemakers, always seeking problems.

It seemed having two kings in one territory wasn't a good idea.

Resources were being squandered on internal conflicts every day.

Perhaps the Fire Nuu clan's current diminished combat prowess was precisely because they lacked a powerful leader like King Ruru from a thousand years ago.

Facing the inquiry from the two Fire Kings, Hua Mi suggested, "Since it's a temple for the Fire Mother, why not ask for her advice?"

The Fire Kings stated that the Fire Mother wouldn't bother with such matters.

In essence, she was too lazy to care.

Honestly, if there truly was a Fire Mother in the Fire Elemental Plane, aware of her followers' chaos, she probably wouldn't want to talk to them either.

Hua Mi remarked, "That's because you haven't used the right approach; the Fire Mother hasn't received your will."

The Fire Kings asked how they could know the Fire Mother's opinion on this matter.

Hua Mi replied, "The Fire Mother is the mother of your entire race, right?"

The Fire Kings nodded in agreement.

Hua Mi continued, "Therefore, her will is manifested in every Fire Nuu; every accumulated will represents her

final will."

The two Fire Kings seemed pensive.

"So, to accurately determine the Fire Mother's opinion on this matter, the best way is to listen to the opinions of all Fire Nuus."

"You can set up a ballot box, allowing all Fire Nuus to vote and voice their opinions. Then, determine the conclusion based on which side has more supporters. This conclusion would come closest to the Fire Mother's will."

The Fire Kings continued to contemplate.

It seemed like they grasped something, yet remained puzzled.

Hua Mi didn't say much more and bid farewell to the Fire Nuus, activating the device he carried to summon a teleportation array. With Little White, he stepped into it, both engulfed in light, and instantly disappeared from the spot.

Weightlessness, pressure.

After a moment, Hua Mi's feet landed on a solid floor.

All around was quiet darkness.

Hua Mi glanced out of the window.

No sight of the moon.

Seemed like he had returned at an inconvenient time; it was night here.