A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 226 The Stone Clan's Murphy

The following day, as the sun rose again atop the tower, Jiang Shuzhou and Jess arrived at the starting point for the year-end exams.

It was a public demiplane where a large number of mages and warriors moved about. Most of the warriors were there to deal with the spoils of war, while the mages were trying to find items of research value among the spoils.

Jiang Shuzhou also took a look, and had to admit, there were a lot of strange and unusual things there.

"How much is this?"

Jiang Shuzhou took a liking to the skin of a special chameleon. Even when the creature was dead, its skin still mimicked the colors of its surroundings, functioning similarly to invisibility.

"One magic stone, sir, just one magic stone."

Jiang Shuzhou didn't haggle and bought it directly.

"Sir, look here, look at this..."

Seeing how generous Jiang Shuzhou was, the people around him also started to promote their wares, but Jiang Shuzhou wasn't interested in what they were selling; they were just ordinary things.

The reason I bought this chameleon is mainly because it's a bit special; even after it dies, its skin can maintain its mimicry, making it quite valuable for research.

While strolling around, Jiang Shuzhou's eyes lit up as he discovered something interesting.

It was a rock that was over ten meters high.

However, these are not ordinary stones; they are the corpses of the Stone People.

Jiang Shuzhou was very interested in these elemental creatures, especially since he was planning to build a mage tower.

After all, due to their physical structure, the Stone Golems are not only suitable as building materials, but also excellent architects, and can also detect minerals.

It can be said to be a sacred body of both civil engineering and geology.

Therefore, most Stone Golems begin their wandering lives from birth.

Because of their special physical constitution, their corpses after death are equivalent to the materials of their extraordinary class when they were alive. At the same time, their corpses can also be used as prospecting indicators and to build magical items such as golems. They are quite sought after, whether alive or dead.

Fortunately, the Stone Golems are quite skilled at building mage towers, so the Mage Alliance has issued relevant documents strictly prohibiting the killing of Stone Golems without cause; otherwise, this race would probably have been wiped out long ago.

"How many magic stones does this thing cost?"

Jiang Shuzhou tapped and knocked, listening carefully to the echoes inside the corpse. After all, the exterior was encased in stone, and no one knew the true strength of the corpse inside.

So this thing can even be used for gambling on jade.

"Clang clang."

The sound of metal was deep and powerful.

Jiang Shuzhou's eyes lit up; this was definitely mid-level, and even high-level was not impossible.

"This isn't for sale, it belongs to my father."

A muffled, deep voice came through.

Jiang Shuzhou looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the stall owner was also a stone man.

"Why are you displaying it here if you're not selling it?"

Although Jiang Shuzhou really wanted to say that since your father is dead, you might as well sell yourself and try to make a future for yourself.

But that would be too outrageous, so he swallowed his words.

"I'm selling myself."

The stone man pointed to the sign and said.

Jiang Shuzhou looked closely and realized he couldn't understand it.

This seems to be the language of the Stone People, not a common language.

Who can understand this purely niche language?

Only after being given the opportunity to read and write did Jiang Shuzhou understand what was going on.

The whole thing can be summed up in four words: selling oneself to bury one's father.

Goodness, he's a loyal and filial person.

Why not just bury your dad anywhere? Why sell yourself?

Since they're all stones, no one can tell the difference. Why are you planning to make him a coffin?

The coffin was completely rotten, but the body was probably unharmed.

Although he had questions, Jiang Shuzhou did not say anything at this time.

"How many magic stones?"

Regardless, let's buy it first. Living Stone Golems are not cheap, and besides, Jiang Shuzhou really needs someone to build a mage tower for him.

"1,500 magic stones."

How much? Why don't you just rob someone!

"I can sign a slave contract."

Hmm, it seems alright.

However, Jiang Shuzhou still planned to check the quality first.

"Come here, let me hear its quality."

According to the description in the book, one can judge a person's approximate talent by listening to the sound of the stone-striking people.

"Clang clang."

It was very deep and powerful, very heavy, and also had a vibrato.

Jiang Shuzhou wanted to tap it again to hear what it was like.

However, the stone man took a step back and refused to be hit.

"Sir, you almost cracked me."

Perhaps due to Jiang Shuzhou's talent, his magic power was too high, so he almost broke through the stone golem's defense with just a casual hit.

This is also related to the fact that Jiang Shuzhou unconsciously used too much force. After all, how can you make a sound if you don't hit hard?

Should I buy it or not?

To be honest, this stone man is definitely not worth this price now, but he has good potential, and he is willing to sign a slave contract and sell himself to bury his father, which shows his filial piety.

This also indicates that he has good character and is very loyal.

With that thought in mind, Jiang Shuzhou made up his mind: Buy it!

The Stone People were already few in number, and those who died were rare, while those who lived were even rarer. Moreover, Jiang Shuzhou was currently undertaking a major construction project and was in dire need of a capable assistant.

Thinking it over, Jiang Shuzhou paid directly, of course, via bank transfer.

The two then quickly signed a contract.

Although it was a slave contract, Jiang Shuzhou didn't add any overly perverse clauses besides demanding absolute loyalty. He even guaranteed the stone man's right to freely dispose of his father's remains.

Otherwise, theoretically speaking, Jiang Shuzhou could have simply taken his father's body away, and he would have had no way to stop him.

However, Jiang Shuzhou didn't do that; that would be too outrageous.

"By the way, do you have a name?"

"Sir, my name is Murphy."

"It's a good name."

Jiang Shuzhou nodded.

"What are you going to do with those 1,500 magic stones? What kind of burial method requires so many magic stones?"

"My lord, I plan to send my father to drift in the astral plane."

No wonder.

"This is the highest-level funeral for our clan. Born in the Astral Plane, die in the Astral Plane, and finally be buried in the Astral Plane."

"Okay, I'll give you a break. You can take care of your work first, and come find me when you're done."

Jiang Shuzhou gave Malphite a mage mark. Although Jiang Shuzhou could know the approximate location through the slave contract without the mage mark, he still gave it to him out of caution.

After all, having a mage master in the Mage Alliance can solve a lot of problems sometimes; at least no one will make things difficult for you for no reason.

Jiang Shuzhou then left.

He hadn't forgotten his main task; he was going to invade other planes later.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Who do you think you are, a black man, daring to talk to me!"

Jess watched the confrontation between the international students in front of him with a headache.

Jiang Shuzhou is obsessed with shopping and goes on a shopping spree, so he can only come here first.

Little did anyone expect that Jess would witness this scene as soon as he arrived.

Several international students from different countries were on the verge of conflict, and it was unclear why.

Princess Elizabeth from the British royal family got into a fight with Bruce, a black man from the United States.

Ye Chen from China and Rikawa Okaban from Japan are preparing for their duel, and the atmosphere is very tense.

That is, the Frenchman Louis, who remained silent and seemed rather honest. Of course, perhaps it was also because he had no rivals.

"You bastard, dare to fight me?!"

"Let's fight! Who's afraid and who's going to back down!"

Hikawa Okaita responded in Chinese with a strange accent.

"You dare speak Chinese? I'll take care of you right now!"

In this situation, Jiang Shuzhou arrived.