Chapter 1 What Happened in the Base

Inside the main house of the base, the travel-worn Roman laboriously squatted his bloated, obese body down and sat on a small round stool, grinning.

"Master Bill, how have you been these past few weeks? My men haven't been impolite to you, have they? Sorry, the conditions are a little crude."

"It is a bit crude, but it's quite safe."

Zhou Jing sat across from him, stroking the back of his hand, sizing up Roman, and replied casually.

He had been in the stronghold for more than two months. The outside world had been changing rapidly, but here it had remained safe and quiet, unaffected.

Roman waved his hand, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I was supposed to leave together, but I still had some things to take care of in the royal capital. Now that it's resolved, I'm no longer a privy councilor."

"What did you do in the royal capital?" Zhou Jing blinked.

"Some tedious matters, nothing worth mentioning," Roman said vaguely, with no intention of explaining in detail.

Zhou Jing feigned curiosity and concern, "Was everything smooth when you left? The royal family knows you're close to me. Have they been strictly investigating and monitoring you these past few weeks?"

"These are all small problems. I cleared the clues long ago. I left before they were certain."

Roman grinned and spread his hands.

Like Bill, he had run away, and only after his disappearance did the king completely confirm that he, the privy councilor, was the one causing trouble behind the scenes, and he was once again angered to the point of being bedridden.

At this moment, Roman paused, waved behind him, and a subordinate walked in, carrying a sword-tailed hawk and a spotted hyena.

As soon as it entered, the dog pounced on Zhou Jing, tongue wagging wildly, circling around him excitedly, while the sword-tailed hawk jumped directly onto Zhou Jing's shoulder.

"Yo, my hawk and hound."

Zhou Jing raised an eyebrow, touched the sword-tailed hawk's small head with his finger, and then casually rubbed Little Black Number One's head.

He thought that without his restraint, the dog, lacking the pet template, would run away, but he didn't expect it to follow him anyway... It really is a simping dog.

Or rather, it can still tell the difference between one full meal and having full meals every day...

"I brought out your pets. It took a little effort, mainly because they didn't listen to me very well."

Roman smiled and waved casually, telling the subordinate who brought the pets to leave the room.

"Thanks." Zhou Jing deliberately exaggerated his happy expression, as if he was pleasantly surprised, "I didn't think there was much hope. I was prepared to lose them."

"Good that you're satisfied." Roman smiled.

Zhou Jing glanced at him and asked, "Speaking of which, now that you're here, the conditions you promised me before can also be fulfilled, right?"

Roman nodded, "Don't worry, I hope to cooperate with you, so that you voluntarily provide us with alchemical technology support, so I will definitely fulfill the agreement."

"No matter what your plans are, I will only be willing to cooperate after I truly learn witchcraft," Zhou Jing emphasized.

"Of course."

Roman nodded, indicating his understanding.

Although he was now in a dominant position, able to knead Bill, who was a "mere mortal," at will, he had no intention of breaking his promise. After all, talented people who can continuously generate income always receive different treatment.

Roman paused and said, "We are about to move to a new base. Once we settle down, I will fulfill the conditions and help you obtain the power of witchcraft."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing's heart stirred, "Now that the empire is divided and the tribes are independent, you instigated it. You and the various tribes are allies, so are we going to move to a certain tribe?"

Roman chuckled and waved his hand, "Indeed, the successive independence of the various tribes is due to my leadership, but given the current situation, I don't plan to continue contacting the various tribes for the time being, helping them with their plans, but rather hibernating for a while. So we are not going to any tribe, but to my territory."

He was the mastermind behind the independence of the tribes, equivalent to a partner in the uprising. He didn't belong to any particular tribe, but had his own power.

Previously, Roman, as a court minister, could play a role in the court, secretly providing convenience to the various tribes. Now that he was no longer a privy councilor, he had other plans.

"You helped the tribes become independent, but after it's done, you want to temporarily withdraw. What exactly are your plans? What benefits do you want?" Zhou Jing deliberately asked.

"The various tribes don't need my help now. Even if the empire is pretending to conscript troops, it will be difficult to start a war," Roman replied vaguely, avoiding questions about benefits.

Zhou Jing raised an eyebrow, "Then do you want them to fight, or not fight?"

Roman pinched the fat on his chin and chuckled, "Whether a true winner who is qualified to sit on the throne emerges through war, or the state of division is maintained for military competition, is acceptable to me."

Seeing that this guy was always avoiding a direct answer, Zhou Jing curled his lips and changed the subject:

"Then what do you need my alchemical technology for?"

"It's very simple. I need you to continue to develop new potions. In addition, I will spread the new Strange Blood Potion out, not to be controlled by the royal family, but to teach it to all the tribes, so that every family can enjoy the fruits of Strange Blood technology progress."

So, you're an anti-monopoly fighter?

Zhou Jing was a little surprised. He originally thought that Roman took him away because he also wanted to monopolize the Strange Blood Potion, but after thinking about it, it seemed to make sense.

Moreover, Roman's approach was more beneficial to him.

The information state particle revenue comes in part from the popularity of the new Strange Blood Potion. Like the royal family's previous monopoly, using its importance to enhance the royal family's power, actually limited Zhou Jing's revenue growth.

If it can be fully promoted, allowing all the tribes to put it into use, given time, there is an opportunity to completely replace the original Strange Blood Potion and popularize it all over the world. That way, as the creator, Bill's influence effect will explode.

"Okay, this is better than I imagined... Anyway, as long as you can give me witchcraft, I will work for you, use me however you want."

Zhou Jing rubbed his hands, acting impatient, almost declaring that Bill had lived a drifting life and had not met a wise ruler until now. If the Duke does not abandon him, Bill is willing to become sworn brothers.

...

The group quickly moved, traveling day and night, rarely entering cities.

Now that the empire was divided, the atmosphere was tense. The various cities were not as open as before. Now they strictly checked the people coming and going, and would not easily let people into the city, especially the cities controlled by the tribal leaders.

Roman had no intention of revealing his identity, and avoided people's eyes and ears along the way. It took half a month before he finally brought everyone to a new secret base.

This base was even larger, and seemed to be Roman's important base, with as many as hundreds of people, also hidden in the wilderness.

After a simple settlement, Roman did not drag Zhou Jing any longer, but directly took him to a remote wilderness to teach him witchcraft.

"The power of the witch comes from one's own spirit and the fusion of the spirits of nature. The first thing is to stimulate the spirit and enter a state called the Elemental Sight to sense the spirits of nature."

Roman took out a small box wrapped in silk from his arms. When he opened it, it was filled with blue ointment.

Zhou Jing had seen it from Lynn. This was a necessary auxiliary material to help beginners enter the Elemental Sight. Otherwise, it would be impossible to sense the spirits of nature by meditation alone.

However, Roman's ointment seemed a little different. Although it was blue like Lynn's, the auxiliary ointment that Roman took out was more azure and beautiful, and of better quality.

"This is an essential item for learning witchcraft, the Spirit Connection Balm," Roman explained.

Zhou Jing's eyes rolled, and he suddenly dug out a little with his little finger and put it in his mouth.

Roman was stunned, "This is for external use. You have to take off your clothes and apply it to your body. Eating it won't work."

"Let me taste it, maybe I can improve it."

Zhou Jing smacked his lips, pretending to taste the flavor.

It tasted like mint balm...

Jason didn't have the item analysis function, so he didn't do this. Now that he had changed to Bill, he might as well take a look at the composition of this ointment, and it would be best to learn how to make it and improve it.

At this time, Roman also remembered Bill's talent, but he was a little disdainful, saying:

"The method of making the Spirit Connection Balm has been passed down for several generations of witches. I have also tried to improve it, but in the end I found that there is nothing that can be changed."

Zhou Jing rolled his eyes, "Are you an alchemy master? Do you understand potions?"

Roman choked.

He dared not show off his alchemy skills.

Zhou Jing pretended to savor it for a while before opening his mouth.

"Well, I understand roughly, let me use it."

Only then did Roman step forward, apply the Spirit Connection Balm to Zhou Jing's upper body, and teach Zhou Jing how to guide his spirit and enter a state of concentration through meditation.

Zhou Jing did as he was told, closed his eyes and felt the cool ointment on his skin gradually become dry and brittle, like mud sticking to his body.

Unlike Jason's lack of reaction.

After an unknown period of time, a wonderful sensation suddenly arose from his heart.

As the breeze blew, the senses seemed to be magnified countless times, as if he could feel countless wind elves, flying past him with laughter.

Zhou Jing opened his eyes and saw that everywhere in the world there were particles emitting a faint light, colorful, distributed in different places.

The earth glowed with a thick ochre light, the grass glowed with a soft green light, and the wind was mixed with a cyan, piercing light...

"Is this the Elemental Sight?"

Looking at this scene, Zhou Jing's eyes widened slightly, and his heart felt strange.

Bill did have the qualifications to practice witchcraft, which made him secretly happy.

But to be fair, how does this strange vision look so much like eating some kind of hallucinogenic mushroom? Will he be lying down on a stretcher next?