A crowd was drawn over by the sound of an argument.

Li Wei walked over and saw that the one raising objections was Melvin.

Melvin was trying to reason with the others, but no one was supporting him.

Everyone was backing the other man’s opinion.

His opponent was a famous Tier Three Array Master.

He was completely out of the league of a minor Array Master like Melvin.

"Who knows more, you or Master Roy?"

"Master Roy said it’s fine. What’s there to question?"

"Exactly. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, keep your mouth shut. Don’t come out here and embarrass yourself."

"You people...!"

Melvin was so angry he was speechless.

Even though everyone knew there was a problem with the plan, they still staunchly supported Roy.

All because Roy was the most famous Array Master in the group.

So it was as if anything he said was automatically right.

Martin came over and asked, "What’s going on?"

Seeing this, Roy stepped forward to explain. "We had a small disagreement about the layout for the Tier Two altar’s Magic Array, but it’s resolved now."

Melvin quickly cut in, "No, it’s not! The problem hasn’t been solved!"

Roy shot Melvin a displeased look.

He was thoroughly annoyed that Melvin kept contradicting him.

"Are you questioning my skill with arrays?" Roy said, looking at Melvin.

Melvin’s expression faltered.

’Of course, he wasn’t qualified to question Roy’s skill with arrays.’

’Without a doubt, Roy was the more skilled Array Master.’

’But on this particular issue, Roy was clearly in the wrong.’

’He was unwilling to admit his mistake and was just letting it slide.’

’And the others were unwilling to stand up and contradict Roy, terrified of offending him.’

’Only Melvin, with his stubbornly upright nature, would bravely step forward and point out an error when he saw one.’

Hearing this, Martin glanced at Melvin, then looked to Roy and said, "We’ll proceed according to Roy’s plan."

"Alright, let’s get to work. We need to try and finish this by tomorrow."

Roy glanced at Melvin and scoffed, as if looking at a clown who didn’t know his own limits.

He turned to the others and said, "Alright, everyone, let’s get to work."

Melvin hurried after Martin, who was already turning to leave.

Martin looked at him impatiently. "Is there something else?"

Seeing his reaction, Melvin’s heart sank.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t know how to say them.

His lips moved a few times before he lowered his head in resignation. "It’s nothing. My apologies, Mage Martin."

His words carried no weight; nothing he said would make a difference.

Melvin was utterly crushed and dejected.

Li Wei walked over to him. "What’s the problem with Roy’s plan?" he asked.

Hearing this, Melvin looked up at Li Wei and gave a bitter smile.

"Under normal circumstances, there’d be nothing wrong with Master Roy’s plan. But I discovered that when the altar was being built, the main Tier Three structure was built in separate sections. They aren’t connected."

"In other words, if we set up the Magic Arrays according to the original plan, we’ll just end up with three separate, large-scale Magic Arrays. We won’t be able to integrate the entire altar into a single whole."

"We have to change the original layout to bring the entire Tier Three altar under a single Magic Array."

"Sigh."

It was a sigh full of helplessness and bitterness.

’Melvin knew that from this day forward, he would probably be ostracized by the other Array Masters.’

’After all, he had offended Roy.’

’As a veteran Tier Three Array Master, Roy had a chance of breaking through to the master level.’

’Anyone would choose to curry favor with and support Roy rather than a no-name Array Master like himself.’

Li Wei asked, "If they go ahead with the original plan, is there any way to fix it?"

Melvin replied, "Yes. The problem can be solved by inscribing an Energy Conduction Magic Array at the junctions between the altar tiers."

"It’s such a simple thing to do, but they..."

Melvin didn’t know what more to say.

’Sometimes, insisting on the correct path against the crowd is a sin in itself.’

Li Wei said, "Can you do it by yourself?"

A look of surprise crossed Melvin’s face.

’He hadn’t considered that.’

’Li Wei’s words were a reminder: even if everyone else chose the wrong path, he could rely on his own strength to correct the error.’

Melvin turned to look at the altar, pondering for a long moment before replying, "I can."

’He made up his mind. He would do it, even if he had to work himself to death.’

’This was a battle of principles between him and Roy.’

’He refused to bow to authority.’

’He only wanted to choose the right way.’

’Regardless of whether that choice offended someone in authority.’

Li Wei asked, "If I help you, how long will it take?"

Melvin looked at Li Wei in disbelief.

He weighed the options carefully before saying, "With two of us working through the night to inscribe the Magic Arrays, we should be able to keep up with the schedule."

"Good. Then get to it."

"Don’t tell anyone else about this."

Melvin was confused. "Why?"

"If you believe me, shouldn’t we get more people to help?"

Li Wei said, "Because some people can’t be trusted."

Melvin was stunned for a long moment.

He looked at Li Wei in a whole new light.

A sincere smile spread across Melvin’s face. "Thank you for trusting me."

Li Wei just smiled and said nothing.

Melvin got to work.

Some of the other Array Masters started to criticize him.

"What are you doing? What if you end up damaging the Magic Array?"

"Stop wasting your energy. What’s in it for you?"

"Why bother? Isn’t it better to just do what Master Roy said? Even if it’s wrong, he’ll be the one to take the fall."

’This was how most of them thought.’

’It wasn’t that they didn’t know there was a problem; they just didn’t dare to take responsibility for it.’

’Following the crowd and bowing to authority was just a means of self-preservation.’

Melvin ignored their idle chatter.

He kept his head down and focused on doing what he believed was right.

Li Wei followed behind, helping him charge and activate the Magic Arrays.

「In the blink of an eye, night fell.」

Everyone else had already returned to their tents to rest.

Melvin drank a Mana Recovery Potion. After recovering some Mana, he continued inscribing the Magic Arrays.

He had already gone through many Mana Recovery Potions.

He raced against the clock, trying to catch up.

He glanced back at Li Wei, a hint of curiosity and amazement in his eyes.

’Li Wei’s Mana seemed inexhaustible.’

’It was as if it would never run out.’

’Charging and activating the Magic Arrays consumed far more Mana than inscribing them did.’

’Yet he had never once seen Li Wei drink a Mana Recovery Potion.’

Li Wei glanced at the work behind them; they were more than halfway done.

He looked at Melvin’s exhausted face.

"That’s enough. You need to rest. You’ll need your energy to keep working tomorrow."

Melvin shook his head. "I’ll just inscribe a few more Magic Arrays."

"You go on and get some rest."

Li Wei was exasperated.

’Why is this guy so stubborn?’

Seeing this, he had no choice but to stay with Melvin.

As Melvin was inscribing a Magic Array, he overexerted his Spiritual Power. His body swayed, and he collapsed, falling face-first to the ground.

He was completely unconscious.

Li Wei carried him back to his tent.

"Shadow Attendant, protect him."

’Li Wei was worried someone might try to secretly harm Melvin.’