All successful, yet all crowned by the White Hat.
By this time, almost three hours had passed. Angel quietly peeked at Sanders across the table, his expression giving nothing away as he played with the monocle refined for Sumishe.
Angel thought for a moment, realizing this wasn’t a viable approach: "Mentor, the crowning success probability of the Black Hat is somewhat low. I’d rather not refine it; let me just present the result directly."
Sanders didn’t comment. He didn’t find watching Angel perform alchemy to be tedious. Nonetheless, he was indifferent to Angel potentially having an imbalance of mental energy, so he simply nodded.
Angel explained the general situation of the Black Hat.
"Is it one being a quantitative change and the other a qualitative change?" Sanders mumbled to himself.
"The crowning of the Black Hat might take it even a step beyond qualitative change," Angel said, using the Sunlight Sanctuary as an example. The Sunlight Sanctuary clearly originated from the Sunlight Garden, yet its effect had transformed from a basic household function to true protection and exorcism.
This was not merely a qualitative change but a complete transformation.
Sanders clicked his tongue in amazement. Even though he had the crowning of the White Hat as a prelude and was psychologically prepared for the Black Hat, its effect still stunned him.
If the alchemy works crowned by the White Hat were merely a false half-step mystic.
Then those crowned by the Black Hat could truly reach the edge of a half-step mystic, even if the level was still a bit short, the effect was already much stronger than ordinary alchemy works.
In other words, as long as a Black Hat appears, it’s a new half-step mystic work.
If the occurrence probability of a Black Hat’s crowning could be raised a bit more, perhaps half-step mystic works could be mass-produced!
Even if this was just Sanders’ imagination, it still indicated how fearsome the "Mad Hat’s crowning" could be.
While Sanders was sighing, Angel was also contemplating whether to mention the "Blood Red Hat"; finally, he decided to keep it hidden. The Blood Red Hat was just Feng’s speculation, still a legend without any verification.
Without concrete evidence, speaking of it would be in vain. Moreover, Angel had a premonition that the Blood Red Hat might only appear when the "Mad Hat’s crowning" was half-out of control or completely lost control, and he had no intention of letting it spiral out of control, so it didn’t matter whether he mentioned it or not.
After pondering for a moment, Sanders also understood what the crowning of the Black Hat signified, echoing what Feng had said.
Such a mysterious object, if misused, would lead to unimaginable consequences. He hoped Angel would use it cautiously.
Angel naturally understood this principle. When he spoke of the Tidal World, he deliberately concealed this part to prevent the spread of this news.
"The crowning of the Mad Hat, I will keep it confidential for you. Even Flora and Sumishe, I won’t tell them," Sanders paused and pointed to several log-in devices on the table: "Apart from the log-in device for Lord Nami Midori, I suggest you don’t rush to give out the others, including those for Lord Rhein."
Before this, Sanders did not know that the "Mad Hat’s crowning" could result in a Black Hat, nor did he realize that its effects were so revolutionary and wondrous. If it were just the White Hat, even if the matter of the mysterious magic pattern were publicized, the ripple effect would be controllable, as this mysterious magic pattern required some enchantment foundation, naturally excluding many Wizards who didn’t study magic patterns.
But if the Black Hat’s matter were discovered, the consequences would be severe.
Even if Rhein and others didn’t seek the mysterious magic pattern, if it were leaked or guessed by someone with ulterior motives, it would cause trouble.
Therefore, to avoid suspicion, it’s best not to release too many log-in devices with a mysterious aura all at once.
When the timing is right in the future, then reveal them gradually for relative safety.
And this timing won’t be too far off, because Angel has already refined a half-step mystic work. Creating another in the future won’t be too surprising. But it’s best not to release too many half-step mystics at once.
Angel thought for a moment and agreed with Sanders’ suggestion.
After some admonitions, Sanders temporarily put aside the discussion of the "mysterious magic pattern," afraid his own greed would emerge if they continued the topic. Even if he didn’t know magic patterns... couldn’t he learn?
After some more chatting on other matters with Angel, just as their conversation was wrapping up, a message came from Lord Rhein.
Rhein was preparing to leave the Green Forest Domain for a while.
The reason being that Leaf Groot received a message from the Sage of Stone Forest Canyon, inquiring when they plan to head to the Region of Fire and suggesting they go together.
Since Rhein learned that Stone Forest Canyon wasn’t far from the Green Forest Domain, he decided to go take a look.
He intends to meet and discuss with the Element Lords from various regions before the grand gathering in the Region of Fire, to estimate future trends.
Rhein also sent the message to inquire if Sanders and Angel wanted to join.
After reading Rhein’s message, Sanders chuckled, "Lord Rhein is not really asking me, but you."
Angel: "Huh?"
"Mandate of Heaven." Sanders did not explain further and simply uttered this term.
Angel wasn’t slow-witted and quickly realized. The Mandate of Heaven would naturally position Angel on the side of the prevailing trend, and their task, to some extent, was also to influence the trend. Having Angel along might make topics that would otherwise be hard to discuss flow smoothly.
Just like previously at the edge of the Lost Forest, Rhein’s meetings with Leaf Groot and Nami Midori, although Angel wasn’t present, his name was mentioned, serving as a leverage in many awkward conversations.
Although it might not necessarily be the result of the Mandate of Heaven, it’s better to believe it exists, right?
The Mandate of Heaven itself cannot be verified, but having it is better than not having it.
Even if Angel were to just stand there without doing anything, it could serve as a psychological comfort.
This is the reason Rhein specifically inquired of Angel.
However, even if Angel actually refused, Rhein wouldn’t mind. The Mandate of Heaven being nebulous, confidence still stems from one’s foundation. Whether it’s Rhein’s foundation or the foundation of the Barbarian Cave, it’s sufficient to handle the Tidal World’s situation.
"Are you planning to go?" Sanders asked.
Angel nodded, "Yes."
Since there wasn’t anything pressing at the moment, going to experience different sceneries seemed like a good idea.
Once the upcoming journey was confirmed, Angel promptly visited the Wilderness of Dreams, primarily to awaken Nami Midori and hand over the refined log-in device.
Upon learning that Angel and others were heading to Stone Forest Canyon, Nami Midori proactively said, "If you plan to go to Malaya Ice Mountain or White Cloud Village afterward, you can let me know, and I’ll accompany you."
Nami Midori’s intention was that, having not left the Green Forest Domain for centuries, it also wanted to visit old friends it hadn’t seen for a long time.
However, Angel could tell that Nami Midori was also expressing goodwill through this gesture.
With Nami Midori accompanying them, it could indeed send a message to other Element Lords.
This would play a significant role in future negotiations as well.