Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 285 After the Wedding

The wedding is over.

No one in the Clark family said anymore that Renee Clark had married down.

No one believed anymore that Asander Cornet's marriage to Renee was a step up for him, or a calculated move to advance his career.

Asander Cornet certainly wouldn't suddenly rise to prominence and gain a meteoric rise in status just because of a light gray access card to the main campus of the academy.

This doesn't represent his ability or rank, but rather his network of connections and potential for growth.

The previous criticisms and discussions about Asander's preference for a job with "freedom of choice" rather than working within the Clark family system have all vanished.

In fact, in terms of sheer size, ten of today's "freedom to do whatever they want" families couldn't compare to one Clark family.

In terms of social standing, the Clark family associates with figures of the caliber of Dean Forrest, far surpassing even Sandra Diomand.

However, a family is a family, and an individual is an individual.

Without their families, many Clarks wouldn't even reach Sandra Diormand's level.

Asander's ability to establish a private relationship with Sandra Diomande through his "freedom to do whatever he wants" is something many Clarks could only dream of.

Even Renee's grandfather, the elderly Clark who led the wedding party, finally gave Asander a smile.

This was the first smile Assande had received from Renee in the ten years they had known each other, making it an extremely rare occasion.

Asander did not become arrogant because of the various changes, mistakenly believing that he was no longer the same person he used to be, and therefore could act willfully and arbitrarily.

On the contrary, Asander is very clear-headed and has a very clear understanding and positioning of himself.

The next morning, Asander arrived at the "Freedom to Do Anything" headquarters, which was not far from his large villa, and began his normal work.

Link and Jasmine had already arrived and were enjoying tea and chatting in the president's office.

Jasmine subtly mentioned that she envied Renee for having such a warm and loving wedding.

Many wizards in the wizarding world indulge in pleasure-seeking.

Very few couples choose to get married, hold a wedding ceremony, and support each other through life due to family pressure or other reasons.

Even if a wedding is held, it is mainly a ceremony, more like a press conference.

Few shows are as heartwarming as Assange and Renee.

Link listened silently without saying a word.

Asander's timely arrival "rescued" Link.

"Come, Asander, sit down and let's talk."

Seeing Asander passing by through the open office door, Link immediately waved and called out.

Jasmine gritted her teeth, feeling a growing dislike for the layout of the headquarters.

Who put the president's office in the middle, with the general manager's office and the deputy general manager's office on the left, and two vice presidents' offices on the right?

That's a fucking genius!

Asander sensed Jasmine's change in mood and didn't really want to go in, but he couldn't resist Link staring at him, so he reluctantly went inside.

There's something I need to discuss with you first.

Link quickly changed the subject, saying, "Molly and I brought some gifts for the members, and we have to deliver them to them today."

"clear."

Before Link could finish speaking, Asander quickly understood what he meant. "I'll inform Lynn right away and have him gather everyone together."

After saying that, Asander ignored Link's gaze and got up to leave.

"No rush, we can talk some more."

Link said this as he watched Asander's departing figure.

Jasmine stared intently at Link with her large eyes, expressionless, saying nothing, yet saying everything.

Link grinned, then silently sipped his tea.

How was he supposed to respond to those questions about the wedding?

"Hmph."

With a cold snort, Jasmine tidied up the tea she had personally brewed, sat behind her desk, and didn't bother to look at Link's face.

"Master, tsk tsk..."

Having not been out for a while, Flandre transformed into a wind sprite, drifting around Jasmine's CEO office, observing the awkward interaction between the two and letting out a series of silvery laughs.

Is this a sarcastic remark?

This is sarcasm!

Link's response was to leave the president's office, ignoring the alliance between the two, and get up to walk towards Lynn's vice president's office.

When the headquarters location was initially selected and the interior was being renovated, Asander was prepared to provide Link with an office, but Link refused.

With the constitutional amendment that grants "freedom to do anything" and the subsequent update to the top-level design, Link only retained the title of founder and did not assume any official position.

There isn't even a title like honorary president.

In theory, Link has made a clear separation from "freedom to do anything" and has completely moved behind the scenes.

"Hello, boss."

Inside the deputy general manager's office, the "Brotherhood," the "Social Anxiety Group," and the core members of the third echelon were all gathered together.

When they saw Link walk in, they all stood up to greet him.

Hello everyone!

Link responded warmly to everyone's greetings, gesturing with his hands, "Sit down, everyone, please sit down."

Once Link sat down, the Brotherhood, the Social Anxiety Group, and the core members of the Third Team all sat down again.

"Don't talk about work. Report anything to your boss."

Once everyone was seated, Link set the tone for the exchange, asking, "How have you all been doing lately? Do you have any questions about subjects like witchcraft, potion-making, or runic arts?"

The members of the "Brotherhood," the "Social Anxiety Group," and the core members of the third echelon have discussed the profound meaning of the new constitution since they studied it.

I'm not surprised at all that Link really let go and was "free to do whatever he wanted."

Upon hearing this question, everyone quickly followed Link's lead and raised their own questions about their cultivation.

Link listened very patiently and then gave pointers one by one.

Alternatively, you can provide a reading list and let the other party consult the relevant materials and literature on their own.

Or point out the key points briefly, leaving it at that, and let the other person think and understand for themselves;

Or break it down and analyze it thoroughly to help the other party understand better.

The lively conversation lasted for nearly an hour until Asander informed them that he had recalled all members.

"Let's go out together."

Link was the first to stand up and walk outside.

Asander gathered all two hundred-plus members in the front yard.

Sandra, along with Lani, Tiffany, Fried, and Gerald, emerged from the vice president's office and joined Link's group.

The people from both sides merged and formed their own order and formation.

Link led the way, with Jasmine and Sandra on either side, trailing behind by about half a body length.

Asander followed behind Link, Lynn was half a step behind Asander, then came the Brothers, the Social Anxiety Group, Lanny, Tiffany, Fried, Gerald, and finally the core members of the third echelon.

As they walked from the second floor to the front yard and stood before the more than two hundred members, the management team, who had previously been "free to do whatever they wanted," had all adopted serious expressions.

Looking around at the more than two hundred members, Link didn't give a long speech, or even introduce himself.

He simply said, "It's rare for me to be back recently, so I've prepared some gifts for everyone. It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept them."

After saying that, he waved his hand gently, and seven open boxes appeared in front of him.

The box contained the "Defender 3202" outfit's boots, underwear, trousers, belt, top, coat, and cape.

Of the more than two hundred members, only a small number were equipped with the "Defender 3202" suit.

Link's gift this time was quite generous and perfectly met the members' needs.

Refusing the help of others, Link personally handed the "Defender 3202" suit to all the members one by one.

Every time Link delivers a "Defender 3202" set, he chats briefly with the recipient, asking for their name and whether they have encountered any difficult problems.

It took nearly an hour to bring down more than two hundred members.

However, not a single person present showed any impatience.

Nobody is a fool.

Link's behavior clearly indicates that he's here to rally people's support.

However, the more Link tried to win people over, the happier the management and ordinary members, who were "free to do whatever they wanted."

This means that "freedom to do whatever you want" is not unimportant to Link, but rather holds a relatively important place in his heart.

An organization that is not valued by its founders and leaders.

This organization could never possibly develop.

It would be best for the members of the organization to disband as soon as possible.

Having made his presence known and memorized everyone's names and appearances, Link disbanded the regular members.

Everyone's time is precious and should not be wasted.

Jasmine also prepared gifts for Link, targeting the Brotherhood, the Social Anxiety Group, and the core members of the third echelon.

Each person has a vehicle of level 2 magic weapon.

A level 1 witch artifact is not high-end enough, and a level 3 witch artifact is too expensive. The compromise is that it is neither too expensive nor too expensive, and it is in line with the current status and position of the Brotherhood, the Social Anxiety Group, and the core members of the third echelon.

Of course, these level 2 magical artifact vehicles are the top-of-the-line models in their respective categories.

As for Lanny, Tiffany, Fried, Gerald, and Sandra, Jasmine didn't forget them either.

After discussing it with Link, Jasmine prepared tea.

Following Link's vision, Flandre has recently cultivated a new type of rock tea with excellent taste and appearance, but it has not yet been released to the market.

It's a present that won't seem cheap or inadequate when given as a gift to five people.

Lanny, Tiffany, Fried, and Gerald each received two boxes.

Sandra, on the other hand, enjoyed four boxes all to herself.

Asander looked enviously at the tea boxes in the five people's hands, his eyes practically bulging with hooks.

"Stop looking, there's none for you."

Link whispered to the guy who had run away as soon as he saw something was wrong, "This is all we made in the first batch, not even enough for myself."

"I don't care, even if there's no new tea, you have to give me a few boxes of other teas, otherwise you can forget about going back to headquarters."

Upon hearing this, Asander felt somewhat disappointed, but immediately resorted to shamelessness, demanding other varieties of fine tea.

Only then could one see a hint of his former frivolity.

"It's all ready for you, in Jasmine's office."

Link smirked. "You were walking too fast, I couldn't stop you. Want it? Have Renee go find Jasmine."

"this……"

Asander glared at Link, indignant.

The tea leaves ended up in Renee's hands; was there any left for him?

If you want to drink some tea, you have to beg for ages and sign a series of unequal treaties.

Just as Link was about to tease Asander again, his personal smart device, which had been re-registered after returning yesterday, suddenly vibrated.

Upon taking it out, he discovered it was an invitation to meet with Sage Cody.

As a newly ascended sage, Sage Cody leads an academy-equipped legion to the front lines, conquering a world very similar to the Fairy World in many ways.

Asander was invited to his wedding yesterday, but he had sent an invitation to Sage Cody.

Like Sage Paro, Sage Cody did not attend in person, but arranged for someone to deliver a congratulatory gift.

He suddenly returned to the mainland today and urgently met with Link; something must be up.

Link told Jasmine, Asander, and Sandra about the situation, and also informed Sage Celine. He then went to the appointment alone.

This was Link's first visit to the residence of Sage Cody.

As Link drove into the villa's front yard, he was surprised to see Peter Lionel's car.

He immediately became suspicious of the meeting and recalled Flandre, preparing her to enter the fairy world and perform a reverse summon at any time.

"Yes, sir, you can rest assured."

After understanding the situation, Flandre patted her chest and made a promise.

While the fourth evolution of "Small World" is somewhat "bloated," it has made a significant improvement in the emergency avoidance mechanism of reverse summoning.

If Flandre is prepared and doesn't hesitate to provide energy, she can summon Link back to the fairy world for safety within 0.1 seconds.

After adjusting his mindset, Link entered the living room on the first floor of Wizard Cody's villa.

"Aren't you surprised?"

Before the host, Sage Cody, could speak, Sage Peter Lionel, who had come to visit, spoke first and asked a question.

"Accident."

Link replied frankly.

"Yeah?"

Peter Lionel smiled, then suddenly unleashed a powerful aura, pressing down on Link. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Link's response was simple: he completely ignored Peter Lionel's intimidating aura and said calmly, "If you can't kill me instantly, you can't kill me."

This statement silenced Peter Lionel.

As a fourth-level sage, killing a second-level wizard in an instant should not be difficult.

However, putting aside the fact that Link Grand is not an ordinary level two wizard.

Even now, in Cody the Sage's villa, Peter Lionel certainly couldn't kill Link instantly under Cody the Sage's nose.

Peter Lionel had seen the video of Soren Lucia ambushing Link and knew that Link had a strange way of escaping.

If you can't kill instantly, you really can't kill them!

Link wasn't bluffing.

Sage Cody then smoothed things over: "Link, sit down. Peter, put away your act. If you want to communicate, you need to look like you're communicating properly."

Peter Lionel snorted coldly and withdrew his imposing aura.

Link sat steadily to the left of Sage Cody, facing Peter Lionel, in silence.

Sage Cody raised his hand, rubbed both sides of his head, and said, "I've been entrusted to act as an intermediary, to create an environment for equal dialogue between you. Peter, just say what's on your mind, don't waste everyone's time. My legion has a lot of things to deal with, waiting for me to return to the front lines."

Peter Lionel's expression shifted subtly for a moment, then he said to Link, "I'm also being asked to broker a reconciliation between you and the Lucia family. What do you say? The Lucia family is prepared to offer..."

"No way."

Link refused to listen to the conditions the Rukia family was prepared to offer, stating his position directly: "I will not fall into the same trap a second time."

Peter Lionel shut his mouth with a displeased expression and turned to look at Sage Cody.

"Looking at me won't help. I'm just helping you get Link here; I won't help you persuade Link."

Ignoring Peter Lionel's gaze, the wise Cody remarked, "You're all too self-centered. Know that not everyone and everything will go your way."

With that, Sage Cody said to Link, "Since you've made up your mind, go back. I'll handle things here for you."

Link nodded, looked directly into Peter Lionel's eyes, and said seriously, "The conflict between the Lucia family and me is currently unrelated to the Lionel family, and hopefully it will remain so in the future."

Ignoring the impact of those words on Peter Lionel, Link turned and left.

"Is he threatening me?"

Peter Lionel suppressed his anger and spoke coldly in a low voice.

Sage Cody retorted irritably, "So what if I threaten you? Does the Lionel family dare to defy the academy's wrath and deal with him?"

Peter Lionel was speechless.

Given the importance Link Grand is currently placed on Dean Forrest, no other family would dare to be so reckless as to kill him unless the other members of the Diormand family give their approval.

Didn't you see that even the beloved Sandra Diormand of the fourth generation joined that "freedom to do whatever you want" group?

If Link Grand didn't already have a girlfriend, and they were very much in love, it would be a different story.

Who knows how many people might think the Diormand family wants Link Grand as their son-in-law?

"Alright, I've finished my work, you can go now."

Sage Cody waved his hand, issuing a curt order to leave without any hesitation, his tone extremely impatient.

Among the forces that blocked his path to becoming a sage was the Lionel family.

If it weren't for the person who made the request having once done a favor for the wise man Cody, he wouldn't have bothered to be this thankless middleman.

Fortunately, it seemed that Link Grand did not think much of it and believed that he had gotten involved with the Lionel family.

Otherwise, all the investments made before would have gone down the drain, which would have been a real shame!

As Link left Cody's Sage Villa, he immediately sensed something was amiss. He turned and looked to the corner to his left, where he spotted someone who looked somewhat familiar.

After carefully sensing the area and confirming that there were no traps, Link slowly walked over.

I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to cause trouble in the North District!

"What's up?"

Looking at Hawk Lucia, who was heavily disguised, Link asked a question without expression.

"No...no."

Hawke had been wanting to find Link, but when they finally met, he didn't know what to say.

What could he possibly say?

"Just say what you need to say, I don't have much time."

Link decided to give Hawk, one of the few people he could stand Rukia, a chance.

"Thanks."

Hawke hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Soren has exiled himself, and Lucia no longer exists. From now on, only the Archie family remains. Moreover, the mixed legion originally composed of the elite forces of Lucia's two major legions has been completely transferred to Sage Cody..."

Link glanced at Hawke, who was speaking somewhat incoherently, said a few words, and then ignored Hawke Lucia, who had lost all her former charm due to the sudden upheaval in her family.

"My affair with Soren has nothing to do with the Yachi family."

You can take my words back with you.

One day, either Sauron or I will have to live.

"It's either me or him!"

(End of this chapter)