《Magic Recovering: Billion Folds Talent》 Chapter 1 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Happy birthday, Dad.¡± Andrew Smith heard his son, Tim, calling him. He opened his eyes helplessly and ended his meditation. Lowering his head, he saw that the red gemstone in his hand was full of cracks. ¡°Did I fail again?¡± Andrew¡¯s expression was a little gloomy as he pondered. Then he looked at the fire jade crystal in his hand with a painful look on his face. This day was his 100th birthday, but he was not happy at all. ¡°Happy birthday, Dad!¡± Beside him, his daughter Mary, dressed in an emerald green robe, came over happily with a piece of cake in her hand. Looking at the happy looks on his children¡¯s faces, Andrew didn¡¯t want to disappoint them, so he forced a smile on his wrinkled face. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯m very happy that you guys are so sweet.¡± Though he said so, he was still frowning. Tim and Mary looked at each other and saw the worries in each other¡¯s eyes. After thinking for a while, Mary came forward with an innocent look and helped Andrew stand up from the shining hexagram spell array that had been outlined in the living room earlier. At the same time, she comforted him. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry too much about Mom.¡± ¡°The army has already promised to help us look for her.¡± ¡°Mom has already¡­You can¡¯t give in!¡± Tim also hurriedly followed suit. ¡°Mary¡¯s right, Dad.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about the money issue for the time being.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just passed the examination for a beginner mage and I¡¯ll get an allowance.¡± ¡°Our family is rich now.¡± ¡°You guys¡­¡± Andrew shook his head and his serious expression softened. He felt relieved because his kids had grown up and could even be on their own. When he thought of this, he was more relaxed than before and walked straight to the balcony. Andrew raised his head to look at the starry sky, and was surprised to find that the stars that dotted the Sagittarius and Ursa Major were no longer pure as before. Instead, the stars looked like something burning, turning almost a third area of the sky red. ¡°This celestial phenomenon is¡­the blazing tide?¡± ¡°It seems that quite a number of fire element mages will make a breakthrough tonight.¡± At the same time, some information popped up in Andrew¡¯s mind like a conditioned reflex. The next moment, he smiled helplessly. ¡°What does this have to do with me, a half-dead old man?¡± He said with a bitter smile. Andrew was not from this world, but from a blue planet that was almost the same as this planet but with no magical power. He did not know if he was lucky or unlucky. One day, he got drunk at night. When he woke up the next morning, he became a crying baby in this world. When he first learned that this was a world full of magical power, he was very excited. Even though Andrew did not have the legendary golden fingers of a transmigrator, he still entered Magic Academy with his precocious intelligence when he was young. However, this was the beginning of the nightmare. Andrew¡¯s talent in magic was too poor! In this world, those that were talented could become beginner mages before ten years old, and many of them could be promoted to advanced mages before eighteen years old. However, Andrew was still a magic apprentice when he graduated. This world was different from the blue planet he came from. Here, there were endless wars. Powerful mages might be able to profit from the war, but the weak ones like Andrew could only suffer. When he graduated, he was recruited into the army according to law, and he narrowly escaped death countless times on the battlefield. At forty years old, Andrew was promoted to a beginner mage and met his wife, Annie Brown, who was also a beginner mage. They got married and started their careers, living happy life. However, in a national war about 15 years ago, Andrew¡¯s team was attacked by a great mage. In an instant, almost the whole army was wiped out! Annie was missing and no one knew if she was still alive! Andrew was seriously wounded. To raise his children who were still in their infancy, he retired, disabled. Relying on the monthly allowance of a regular mage, he barely brought up Tim and Mary. However, as the saying went, it never rained but it poured. If Andrew¡¯s injuries were properly treated, he might still have a chance to recuperate. But his allowance was all used to the upbringing and education of his children. He didn¡¯t have the money to buy medicines for himself at all! Last month, his injuries flared up again. He even could not stabilize his spiritual structure. Then he was relegated from a beginner mage to a magic apprentice! Actually, Andrew didn¡¯t care about it. After all, he rarely fought at this age. But without the allowance of a regular mage, he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford the tuition fees for his children to continue their training in Magic Academy! In this world, if one wanted to live with dignity, he or she must become a mage! Therefore, Andrew wouldn¡¯t let his children drop out of school! If Tim hadn¡¯t told Andrew that he had become a beginner mage and could get the allowance, Andrew would be desperate! ¡°Alas¡­¡± Andrew looked at the stars in the sky and felt a little dejected. He was already one hundred years old, but his life was so miserable. While he was thinking, Tim came to the balcony. On his shoulder lay a small white rabbit-like creature. ¡°Dad, Topa is also very worried about you.¡± Tim walked forward and said. The cute little creature called Topa nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯m fine. He doesn¡¯t need to worry about me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve endured it for so many years.¡± Andrew looked at Tim and shook his head. Was he unreconciled? No. That was the privilege of the young, He was very old. After thinking for a while, Tim took out a badge made of jade from his pocket. ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t have to worry about the expenses at home. I¡¯m a beginner mage now.¡± ¡°I can afford Mary¡¯s tuition fees. Our savings are enough for our daily expenses.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Tim said sincerely. ¡°It¡¯s my incompetence that makes you bother.¡± Andrew nodded his head with a gratified look and then said. Seeing his guilty look, Tim felt a lump in his throat. He glanced at Topa who was floating beside him and expressed his dissatisfaction. ¡°See? You asked me to slow down my cultivation, but now my father can¡¯t even maintain his realm as a beginner mage anymore!¡± ¡°If I could make a breakthrough earlier and help reduce the burden of our family, perhaps he would¡­¡± Tim complained in the spiritual domain. Meanwhile, Topa, who looked cute, spoke in a rather calm tone, ¡°I did that to help you form a special spiritual structure. Otherwise, with your talent, you can only become a great mage at most.¡± Hearing Topa¡¯s words, Tim fell silent for a moment. He knew that the spiritual structure formed during one¡¯s magical apprentice time could affect his whole life. He could not be anxious for success. At this moment, the clock in the room suddenly rang twelve times. It was midnight. Mary came to the balcony with the cake. ¡°Dad, congratulations¡­¡± [Congratulations, you¡¯ve been living a hundred years] [Energy storage completed! Billion times of talent activated!] Andrew did not notice the second half of Mary¡¯s words. Instead, he was attracted to the voice in his mind.. Chapter 2 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°This is¡­¡± Andrew¡¯s hands trembled slightly, and he guessed in his mind. Did his cheating program pop up online after being offline for a hundred years? ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡± Tim felt something strange with Andrew. He felt that Andrew was in a higher spirit and his energy had improved quite a bit. Andrew just smiled. ¡°You guys go in first. I sensed something magic.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± Mary said. Before Tim could say anything, Mary pulled him away from the balcony excitedly. At the same time, the voice in Andrew¡¯s mind was sounded once again. [The first stage of the billion times of talent has been activated¨CA hundred times of talent] In an instant, Andrew felt that his entire body had been transformed by a strange power that was like a stream. The blazing tide, which was an ordinary celestial phenomenon for Andrew made the spiritual power in Andrew¡¯s body dozens of times more active than before! Even a few years ago, Victor, who was known as the child of fire in the country, had only increased his spiritual power by nineteen times under such circumstances! ¡°Besides, I¡¯m regaining my memories¡­¡± A trace of joy flashed across Andrew¡¯s eyes. After all, he was already one hundred years old. Many things of his past become blurry in his moory, but in the blink of an eye, they become vivid in his mind again. Even that Tim swore to him that he would become a great mage when entering Magic Academy was clear in his mind as if it had just happened. What surprised Andrew more was that he finally knew why he had regressed to the level of a magic apprentice. ¡°Sure enough, there is a problem with my spiritual structure.¡± Andrew closed his eyes slightly and could feel that in his mind, his pentagram-shaped crystal structure was full of cracks, and his magical power constantly seeped out from these cracks and then disappeared. If not for the sudden gaining of the talent, Andrew would not have noticed this at all and could only wait for his death! ¡°It¡¯s a pity that even if I find the problem, I can¡¯t solve it.¡± Andrew calmed down soon and felt upset. With his one hundred years of experience, he certainly knew how to repair his spiritual structure. ¡®But the meditation method to repair a spiritual structure is in the charge of the highest echelons.¡¯ ¡®I can barely support my family and don¡¯t have enough money. Even if I have money, it is difficult to get the method.¡¯ ¡°Unless¡­¡± Andrew thought of something. With his memory enhanced, he remembered that he luckily obtained a book about an obscure meditation technique in a country-destroying battle. At that time, Andrew couldn¡¯t understand the contents of the book. At the same time, he realized that the book was an extraordinary item, so he took it home and hid it. ¡°Now that my talent has been strengthened ¡­ Perhaps, I can decipher the secret of the meditation technique.¡± Andrew thought for a moment and then rushed into the study. ¡°Let me think¡­ Where did I hide it?¡± He quickly took down two books, ¡°General Knowledge of Fire Magic¡± and ¡°On the Extensibility of the Aether Element¡±, from the top of the bookshelf. Then, Andrew reached out and fumbled a few times. Finally, he took out a roll of parchment. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± He was overjoyed and then opened the book. Andrew remembered that the first time he flipped through the parchment, every symbol on it made him dizzy. But at this time, as soon as he opened it, countless messages flooded into his mind. It was as if the scroll was initially unwilling to impart its knowledge to Andrew. But after sensing Andrew¡¯s talent, it took the initiative to transmit the information to him. The sensation was intoxicating. Time flew. Andrew didn¡¯t come back to his senses until Tim, who was worried about him, knocked on the door. ¡°Dad, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Andrew smiled as he put away the parchment. He looked calm. But actually, he was ecstatic! The mysterious meditation technique was a secret technique to help people strengthen their spiritual structures. It could also help people how to repair their spiritual structures! ¡°Though I¡¯ve regressed to the level of a magic apprentice, I can practice this meditation technique better with my current level. Otherwise, I¡¯d have to dispel the magical power in my spiritual structure first.¡± Andrew rubbed the parchment in his hand. In this world, there was a scientific and strict system of magic cultivation. In essence, a magic apprentice is a basic realm. Both high-level and ordinary meditation techniques were the same. When cultivating, one should capture the spiritual power in his body, and the power would be continuously compressed and then turn into a liquid. Later, the liquid was condensed into a solid. After completing this step, one would become an apprentice. After becoming an apprentice, one would need to adjust their solid spiritual power to a specific form according to different meditation techniques and individual talents. The more talented one was, the greater the amount of spiritual power he would have. The more he adjusted the power, the more stable and complex his spiritual structure would be. The stronger one¡¯s ability to control magic power was, the faster his cultivation would be in the future! The high-level meditation techniques could help repair the cracks that might be caused by the cultivation. At the same time, they served to reduce the amount of spiritual power consumed during the process and enabled people to make full use of it. Therefore, the power of a magic apprentice was enough to create a huge gap between a genius and an ordinary person. The pentagram spiritual structure that Andrew possessed was the most common. If he did not repair it, no matter how talented he was, he would be encumbered by it! When figuring out the function of this mysterious meditation technique, Andrew made up his mind to re-construct his spiritual structure. And the top priority was to stabilize his spiritual structure so that he could go on to the next step. Andrew nodded at Tim and said, ¡°Leave me alone, please. I need to meditate and cultivate.¡± After that, he could not wait to sit down cross-legged. Then he began his first try to repair his spiritual structure according to the meditation technique in the mysterious parchment. At this moment, the crystal with the pentagram structure in Andrew¡¯s mind trembled slightly. From time to time, some broken pieces fell off. Andrew observed it for a few seconds and then tried to gather a trace of spiritual power. To his surprise, the spiritual power was almost completely reintegrated into his spiritual structure. A crack was repaired successfully. ¡°It¡¯s so effective!¡± ¡°Is it because of my talent?¡± Andrew vaguely understood something. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s easier than I thought.¡± After that, he calmed down a little and continued the repair of his spiritual structure. And the cracks were quickly repaired one by one. ¡­ ¡°Is it morning?¡± When Andrew opened his eyes again, he saw the sun rising and shining through the shutters into the study. He stretched, feeling that his perception of the various magical powers in the world had become countless times stronger. The pentagram spiritual structure in his mind was almost repaired. There were only a few extremely tiny cracks that would repair themselves automatically. ¡°The leakage of my magical power also stopped.¡± ¡°What I need to do next is to wait for the spiritual structure to fully recover and then begin the cultivation.¡± Andrew pushed open the study door and saw his children looking at him with pleasantly surprised looks.. Chapter 3 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Walking on a dam not far from home, Andrew looked quite relaxed and pleased. He even greeted his acquaintances kindly. ¡°Long time no see, Bryan. I heard you¡¯ve made a breakthrough recently, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Andrew. You seem to be more energetic than you were a few days ago.¡± The neighbors saw Andrew¡¯s current state and were a little amazed. Andrew did not tell others that he was not a beginner mage anymore, but everyone knew it and could see his uneasiness and tenseness over the past month. The neighbors saw that Andrew seemed to have gotten over his dark period so they were all happy for him. After all, they had known the Smith family for more than 10 years. They knew how hard it was for Andrew to raise two children. Andrew had no time to care about the enthusiasm of the neighbors. He walked straight to a shop selling low-level magical items. He picked a trinket randomly and then bargained with the shop owner. Tim and Topa saw this scene and could not help but heave a sigh of relief. ¡°It looks like my father is not as nervous as before,¡± Tim said with a smile. Since his wife¡¯s missing, Andrew had been the backbone of the family. When Tim saw that Andrew was in a better mood, he was also delighted. ¡­ ¡°Little brat, did you think that I didn¡¯t notice you?¡± A shadow of a smile touched Andrew¡¯s mouth as he murmured. Then he leisurely walked back home. Although he was just a magic apprentice, with his hundredfold talent, he had more spiritual power than a beginner mage. Tim thought that he was secretly observing Andrew, but in fact, Andrew was clear about it. When Andrew got home and opened the door, he found that Mary had not returned home, so he walked straight to the study. ¡°I can continue to strengthen my spiritual structure.¡± Andrew could sense that the cracks on the pentagram-shaped crystal had been completely repaired, and it was as smooth as jade. He took out the parchment, which he had been keeping with him, and looked through it. It contained many high-level and complicated methods to reshape his spiritual structure. ¡°Four-leaf clover structure enables me to gain additional inspiration when I cast prophecy magic.¡± ¡°This is too exotic.¡± ¡°The seven-pointed star structure is just an upgraded version of the pentagram structure. Its potential is far from enough.¡± ¡°Simple structure ¡­¡± He looked through the parchment for a while and found that the spiritual structures recorded on it were not satisfactory. In the past, Andrew would have been ecstatic if he could gain these high-level spiritual structures. ¡°I have a hundredfold talent now. Perhaps I can find something better, right?¡± Andrew muttered to himself. Suddenly, his eyes brightened. After the talent system was activated, his memory become extremely strong. He remembered a structure that he knew before he transmigrated to this world. He thought of diamonds. The special arrangement of carbon atoms made diamonds the hardest substance in the world. ¡®If I change my spiritual structure into a diamond spiritual structure, then I¡¯ll have the densest spiritual structure and the strongest power.¡¯ ¡®Moreover, based on the characteristics of the diamond, it is also easy to create such a structure.¡¯ The more Andrew thought about it, the more excited he was. After successfully establishing the spiritual structure, a magic apprentice could draw the magical power in the air into his body. Once the accumulated magical power could be used to release a basic spell, he would officially become an official mage. The magical power that was drawn in could not be all retained. A lot of magical power would overflow and escape from the gaps and cracks of the spiritual structure. The more complex the spiritual structure was, the less magical power would escape, and the faster the cultivation would be. ¡®But if my assumption is correct, a diamond spiritual power to imitate will enable me to perfectly lock all the captured magical power in my body.¡¯ ¡®Then, my cultivation will be unbelievably fast!¡¯ Andrew immediately began to reshape his spiritual structure. To be honest, it was not a pleasant process at all. Through meditation, Andrew turned the newly formed spiritual power into a hammer. Then he forcefully hammered his pentagram spiritual structure, trying to hammer it into a new shape. Every hammering on his solid spiritual power would bring him a splitting headache. However, he did not say a word and endured it. The pain continuously tore through Andrew¡¯s consciousness. An indeterminate amount of time passed. As he was still recovering from the pain, he suddenly realized that the original structure had become an exquisite one. Its volume had shrunk by about five times, revealing a crystal clear four-sided polyhedral body. On the section, there was a slightly protruding special structure, and it could be used to absorb the new spiritual power. ¡®According to the structure of the diamond, as long as there is sufficient pressure, it can be infinitely increased in size.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ succeeded?¡± Andrew said, still in a daze as he opened his eyes and left the meditative state. He had just gone through unspeakable torment. As soon as he got up, Andrew felt something wrong. Even though the study still looked the same as before, he easily captured the details that he had neglected before. The pages of the books on the bookshelves were coated with specks of dust, and more dust motes floated in the air. There was a hidden ant nest by the side of the wall and insects were crawling out. Andrew could even see the bottom of the bed clearly without lying on the ground. Besides, Andrew also found that his five senses had undergone a huge transformation. He could hear the sounds of children playing outside and smell the fragrance of food from a stall a hundred meters away. ¡­ The huge amount of information made Andrew stunned for a moment. ¡®After the establishment of the spiritual structure was completed, my perceptive ability would be increased to a certain extent¡­¡¯ ¡®But this ¡­ is too amazing.¡¯ Andrew was both surprised and happy. ¡®So¡­Let me see what else I can do,¡¯ Andrew thought. The strength of the spiritual structure was mainly reflected in three aspects: increased perceptive ability, the ability to absorb magical power, and the ability to resist the spiritual impact. The increase in the perception ability was terrifying. As for absorbing magical power, Andrew was mentally exhausted from the establishment of the spiritual structure, so he could only delay the use of it for the time being. He wanted to test how strong the resistance of his diamond-structured solid spiritual power was. ¡°I remember that the most common method should be like this,¡± Andrew thought. He made up his mind and fiercely hurled his diamond-structured spiritual structure toward the boundaries of his consciousness. This was the most convenient method to test the spiritual structure¡¯s resistance. If he did this with his previous pentagram spiritual structure, it would be smashed into pieces in one go. Of course, the damaged spiritual power would still be in his body, and it was not difficult to repair it. The diamond-like structure was thrown out like a meteor. However, what surprised Andrew was that his diamond-structured spiritual structure was still intact after it hit the boundary. Instead, the edge of his consciousness was repeatedly jolted, and it shook for a long time. ¡°How could it be?¡± Andrew was stunned. He had never seen such a scene in his life! Nobody¡¯s spiritual structure could remain unharmed after crashing into the boundaries of consciousness. There was even a piece of news two years ago that a supreme mage hit his consciousness with his spiritual structure and as a result, his spiritual power shattered and his strength dropped drastically. The scene that had just happened was impossible! ¡°Could it be that I¡¯ve remembered the wrong method?¡± Andrew suddenly had a doubt. ¡®I¡¯ll go to Magical Apprentice Hall tomorrow and test it with the help of the proper equipment.¡¯ Andrew felt a little helpless.. Chapter 4 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Andrew walked out of the study and headed to the bathroom to wash up. Due to the intense pain, his entire body was drenched in sweat. The moment Andrew went out of the door, he saw his two children. Mary had returned home and was helping her brother in the kitchen. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Andrew greeted her and then hastily washed up. He felt a little hungry, so he casually chose a set of clothes and changed into it. Then he sat down at the table on which there were many dishes. ¡°This is the meat of the flaming chicken.¡± Andrew noticed it. The flesh of the special magical beast was beneficial for cultivating. The only drawback was that it was expensive! ¡°I bought it especially for you,¡± Tim said with a smile, ¡°I received my monthly allowance today¡± Mary, who was sitting at the table, also looked at the dish in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since our family ate this.¡± She looked greedy. Andrew could not help but smile when seeing her like this. His son had grown up. Even if he didn¡¯t have the cheating program, Tim¡¯s continuously increasing strength was enough to support this family. Andrew picked up the cutlery and was about to take a few pieces of chicken to eat when he heard a cold and childish voice beside him. ¡°Tim! You shouldn¡¯t have bought this flaming chicken!¡± ¡°Your father needs more high-level items to return to the level of the beginner mage. It¡¯s better to use the money to increase your own strength.¡± ¡°But since we can¡¯t help my father recover for the time being, it¡¯s also good to make him happy.¡± Andrew was a little stunned. He was familiar with the second voice. It was his son¡¯s voice. It was somewhat distorted, but he could still recognize it. ¡®This is a spiritual transmission.¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t expect that with the diamond spiritual structure, my sensory ability would become so strong.¡¯ Andrew put down the cutlery and turned his head. Then he found Topa was lying on Tim¡¯s shoulder and talking with him. ¡®So they are talking now.¡¯ ¡®This little fellow, who looks like a rabbit, was picked up by Tim when they were on their last trip. It looks extraordinary.¡¯ Andrew remained calm and continued to listen to their conversation. Topa was a little displeased. ¡°Strength is the most important. I¡¯m the Astral Beast, so you should listen to me!¡± Tim said as if he was coaxing a child, ¡°I always listen to you, don¡¯t I? You asked me to slow down the pace of my breakthrough, and I did as you said.¡± ¡°Forget it. Be diligent and remember to practice the Starry Night Meditation that I taught you,¡± Topa reminded Tim, ¡°And according to our plan, you will sign up for the Wild Hunt. Otherwise, just by relying on my origin star power, you won¡¯t improve fast.¡± ¡°All right. I¡¯m not of Star Race. How can I become stronger quickly?¡± Tim replied. Andrew felt relieved. He had heard of Star Race, which was considered one of the most powerful forces in this world. Everyone in this race was born with origin star power, which was very beneficial to the cultivation of a majority of races. Once it was taken away, Star Race would lose all their strengths. Therefore, Topa was willing to share this with Tim, which showed that he meant Tim no ill. ¡®No wonder Tim¡¯s talent is about the same as mine but he advanced so quickly.¡¯ ¡°One can only gain the star power with the help of Star Race?¡± ¡°This is quite strange.¡± When Andrew decided to stop hearing their conversation, Topa said another secret. ¡°Star Race is not born powerful. The origin star power is not very useful before we reach the level of a great mage. On the contrary, it will only bring us fatal disaster. When we were magic apprentices or ordinary mages, we relied on an extremely stable and airtight spiritual structure to survive. Since you have cultivated to gain this kind of spiritual structure, the speed of your cultivation won¡¯t be slow.¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Andrew was stunned. ¡®Stable and airtight? Was Topa referring to diamond?¡¯ Andrew was secretly pleased. Sure enough, his decision was right. He did not hesitate to endure great pain and changed his spiritual structure, finally laying a perfect foundation for his cultivation. ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± Tim replied solemnly. However, Topa was still talking non-stop. ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re very powerful just because you have become a beginner mage.¡± ¡°This is just the standard of the Blue Planet. In Star Race, it¡¯s not that easy to become a beginner mage!¡± ¡°Hey, what are you talking about? Not only have I broken through to become a beginner mage, but I¡¯ve also mastered the magic of wind and fire. I¡¯m much stronger than others now.¡± Tim retorted without much confidence. Topa¡¯s voice became more and more disdainful. ¡°Is that so? Then do you know that if you want to become a beginner mage in Star Race, you need to master at least four different types of magic and sixteen types of spells?¡± ¡°Your mana reserves must be enough to enable you to continuously cast beginner spells thirty times. Only then can you be recognized as a beginner mage. With your current level, you¡¯re just a slightly stronger apprentice in Star Race.¡± ¡®Apprentice?¡¯ Andrew was stunned for a moment. When he became a beginner mage, he had only grasped one type of magic. He was slightly worse than his son. According to Topa, he probably didn¡¯t deserve to be a mage at all. Tim was still a little unconvinced and he said, ¡°I don¡¯t have to follow the standards of Star Race, do I?¡± ¡°On this planet, I¡¯m already considered a genius.¡± He said unconfidently, his voice becoming lower and lower. Topa was getting more annoyed. ¡°Genius?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t imagine what a true genius is like in Star Race.¡± ¡°At the very least, you have to master the ability to cast spells across levels.¡± ¡°They can use beginner spells to bring out the power of middle-level spells!¡± ¡°Even if you have the spiritual structure that I told you, you are unable to do it!¡± The two of them kept talking and Andrew learned quite a few secrets while listening to their conversation. ¡®Even a beginner mage is so powerful in Star Race.¡¯ ¡®As for casting spells across levels, I don¡¯t know if I have the chance with my current talent¡­¡¯ ¡®Sure enough, even if I have the diamond spiritual structure, I can¡¯t slack off.¡¯ Andrew slowly chewed the meat in his mouth, then he put down the cutlery and said calmly, ¡°You guys enjoy your dinner. I¡¯m going back to my room to cultivate.¡± ¡­ In the early morning of the second day. When Andrew woke up, he found Tim and Mary still asleep. He tiptoed into the living room and rummaged for a while. Not long after, he took out a golden card that looked rather quaint. ¡±I haven¡¯t used it for decades.¡¯ Andrew thought and showed a nostalgic expression. With this golden card, he could test his abilities for free in Magical Apprentice Halls that were open all over the country. Since Andrew became a beginner mage, he had never used it again. Previously, Andrew¡¯s test on his diamond spiritual structure made him unsure of his power. ¡®If the tests at Apprentice Hall prove that my spiritual structure is more stable, then I can begin my cultivation.¡¯ Andrew took out a few pieces of bread from the fridge, opened the door, and walked out.. Chapter 5 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Andrew walked in the direction of Magical Apprentice Hall peacefully. Perhaps young people would feel a little proud and complacent when their talents had grown so much. But he, who was already a hundred years old, knew that staying calm in all circumstances was the most essential quality. When he reached Magical Apprentice Hall, he coincidentally met an acquaintance, the director of Magical Apprentice Hall, Lucas Henderson. Lucas was holding the hand of a child, and it seemed that he was heading to Seminary. He was polite when he saw Andrew, ¡°Andrew, are you here to test your power? Alas, you did suffer in this accidental misfortune.¡± He shook his head as he said. Andrew was not in the mood to exchange pleasantries at the moment. He just nodded his head and walked into Magical Apprentice Hall. The child beside Lucas tilted his head. Those who were in contact with the authorities all knew that Andrew was degraded to a magic apprentice. ¡°Didn¡¯t Grandpa Andrew¡­¡± The boy was confused. Lucas was also a little puzzled. ¡®Yes, Andrew¡¯s magical power and spiritual strength are still escaping.¡¯ ¡®In a few days, he won¡¯t even be able to maintain his magical apprentice status. Why did he still come here?¡¯ Lucas pondered. He decided to send his grandson to school first and then went to see what Andrew would do. On the other side, Andrew checked in with his golden card. Then he walked into the training grounds of Magical Apprentice Hall. The furnishings of the equipment was somewhat similar to the game hall in his previous world. There were many machines equipped with LCD screens, and beside each machine was a helmet-like device that looked like VR equipment. Andrew casually walked to a machine, pulled out a chair, and sat on it. He put on the helmet, and instantly, a projected image appeared in front of him. ¡°Please choose the test item.¡± Although the voice asked him to make a choice, in fact, Andrew only had one option¡ªSpiritual Structure Resistance Test. The principle of the test was quite simple and crude. Different sources of spiritual power would counteract each other. When the spiritual structure was broken, one could calculate the value of his spiritual power through the intensity of the spiritual impact. The spiritual power applied in the test of Magical Apprentice Hall was specially processed. And even if broken in the test, one¡¯s spiritual structure could recover quickly. It was still early. At this time, there was no one else in the hall, and the hall seemed a little empty. ¡®My diamond spiritual structure should be a little stronger than the ordinary spiritual structure.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll adjust it to its maximum power.¡¯ A hint of determination flashed across Andrew¡¯s eyes. He quietly set the spiritual impact strength test to the maximum¡ª2999 paz. Paz was the name of a supreme mage about seven hundred years ago. He invented the elemental conversion law and accurately measured the spiritual strength of the different levels of mages¡¯. Hence, the unit of spiritual strength was named after him. 2999 paz was the upper limit of spiritual strength that an intermediate mage could reach when using the pentagram spiritual structure which was the most widely used. ¡®I don¡¯t know if I can bear it,¡¯ Andrew thought nervously. The next second, he felt a force from the helmet rushing into his consciousness. The power was mediocre. His diamond-structured solid spiritual energy did not even budge an inch. ¡®Is this the beginning?¡¯ Andrew thought, then gritted his teeth and prepared to endure the stronger impact. ¡°Hmm¡­hmm??¡± After waiting for a long time, he didn¡¯t feel anything. He looked at the screen and saw the words¡ªThe test ended. He was a little confused. ¡®Maybe¡­there¡¯s something wrong with this machine.¡¯ Andrew thought hesitantly, so he tried on more than ten machines in succession. Then, he came to an unbelievable conclusion. ¡°This diamond spiritual structure of mine is so solid that even an intermediate mage¡¯s full-force impact can¡¯t destroy it.¡± ¡®What a surprise.¡¯ Andrew was lost in thought. He was already so strong just by establishing his spiritual structure. It was estimated that he would be more powerful after he grasped more magic in the future! He was ecstatic and even looked much younger. Then Andrew rushed out of Apprentice Hall. After confirming that there was no problem with his spiritual structure, he could not wait to begin his cultivation. ¡­ In the evening, Lucas sent away the last batch of magical apprentices who came for the cultivation test. When he was about to close the door, he suddenly remembered what happened in the morning. ¡°What did Andrew come here for?¡± he murmured. Lucas held a porcelain cup filled with wolfberry tea in his hand. After thinking about it for a while, he could not hold back his curiosity and went back to the Apprentice Hall and retrieved the usage records of the machines Andrew used. ¡®He tested on more than ten machines. What did he do on earth?¡¯ Lucas was clueless. He went straight to one of the machines and retrieved the usage record. ¡®What the hell is this?!¡¯ Lucas looked at the screen in disbelief and almost fell to the ground. ¡®Name: Andrew; Spiritual impact: 2999 paz¡¯ ¡®Did this machine break down?¡¯ Lucas was smart. He immediately opened the other machines and checked them one by one nervously. ¡®Name: Andrew; Spiritual impact: 2999 paz¡¯ ¡®Name: Andrew; Spiritual impact: 2999 paz¡¯ ¡­ The next moment, the sound of a porcelain cup falling on the ground was heard. The splashing hot water even burned Lucas¡¯s ankle. However, he still stood there in a daze. One machine might have broken down, but it was impossible that the machines broke down at the same time! The only possibility was that these records were all true! ¡®Andrew¡­ No, Mr. Smith must have experienced something miraculous!¡¯ Lucas¡¯ eyes were filled with shock. ¡®These records were ridiculous! A magical apprentice¡¯s spiritual structure was comparable to that of an intermediate mage? That was news that could shock the whole country.¡¯ Lucas had worked in Magical Apprentice Hall of the Moore Republic for decades. He knew very well that few people on the planet could have such talent. The last person to withstand the spiritual impact of 2,999 paz was the current president of Domestic Mage Council, Mr. Azna. He became a legendary mage half a year ago. ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Lucas murmured. He was completely dumbfounded. Even 2,998 paz and 2,999 paz had different meanings. The former meant that one could only withstand a spiritual impact of up to 2,998 paz, while the latter meant that the strength of one¡¯s spiritual power was very likely to exceed the upper limit. Lucas didn¡¯t expect that Andrew had made a breakthrough again. This was because only pure spiritual power would be recorded in Magic Apprentice Hall. Once a trace of magical power was found, one would be deemed as cheating. Therefore, Andrew must have done all of this as a magical apprentice! ¡®It seems that another star will rise.¡¯ Lucas gasped. He had no idea how powerful Andrew was! ¡­ Andrew did not know that his test result during the day almost scared his old friend to madness. After dinner, he calmly put down the cutlery and said to Tim and Mary, ¡°Enjoy yourselves. I¡¯m going back to cultivate.¡± Tim and Mary were used to it. They didn¡¯t know why their father had changed so much over the past few days. His enthusiasm for cultivation was unprecedented. Tim just nodded. Mary smiled sweetly and said, ¡°Alright, Dad. Go ahead. We¡¯ll do the dishes.¡± Andrew nodded slightly, then walked into the study and sat down. He decided to start absorbing magical power from this night and try to become a beginner mage again. As for the type of magical power he would absorb, he still chose his previous magic¡ªFire.. Chapter 6 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Earth, fire, water, and wind were the four ancient, fundamental magic attributes. Human beings had been on the blue planet for thousands of years. They initially used these four magical attributes to cultivate, and then developed additional branch attributes such as light, dark, and thunder. Andrew knew that the development of the magic attributes was roughly divided into three stages. The first was the most ancient period. People cultivated with the four basic attributes as well as the newly discovered attributes. Next was the second stage. Thanks to technological developments, the people on the blue planet were able to observe the magical elements from a micro level. For example, among the fire attributes, spells more inclined to burning and high temperature were classified as the element of molecular transformation; spells more inclined to explosions, falling meteorites were classified as the element of plastic energy. The precise subdivision of the attributes had lowered the threshold for magical cultivation. However, for some unknown reason, after the blue planet came into contact with Star Race, the division of the magical attributes had returned to the original stage. ¡®Perhaps, I can learn some relevant information from Topa,¡¯ Andrew thought. At this moment, Andrew had entered a deep meditative state. Through his spiritual structure, he could sense light spots of various colors floating in the air. This was magical power, the strange power that was everywhere in this world. The number of red light spots that represented the fire element was much more than those of other colors. That was because the effects caused by the blazing tide a few days ago had not completely subsided yet. ¡°Come on.¡± A flicker of solemnity crossed Andrew¡¯s eyes. He dispersed the spiritual power that he had created via meditation into the air with ease and tried his best to mark all the red magical light spots. Then, he slowly activated his solid spiritual structure and absorbed those marked light spots into his body. ¡®The number of the marked light spots this time is almost ten times more than that when I was a beginner mage!¡¯ ¡®A hundredfold talent¡­ That¡¯s so unbelievable.¡¯ Andrew sighed with emotion and felt excited. The next step was the most important part. He concentrated and inserted the magical power in his consciousness into his spiritual structure. Initially, Andrew thought that this process would take a lot of effort, but it was quite easy. The magical power seemed to be alive and voluntarily enter his diamond spiritual structure. Then, it turned bright red and slowly colored the originally pure white structure into the color of flames. During this process, a lot of magical power was merged into the spiritual structure and slowly broke into smaller particles, wanting to flow out of his consciousness. However, what surprised Andrew was¡­ ¡®It actually can¡¯t flow out at all!¡¯ Andrew was stunned. Initially, Andrew had guessed that his diamond spiritual structure, due to its extreme compactness, could probably increase the efficiency of absorbing magical power. However, he had never thought that the spiritual structure could absorb all magical power! Other mages could only absorb part of the magic power while Andrew could absorb all! ¡®Oh my god! This is outrageous!¡¯ Andrew was dumbfounded. He knew very well that in the Moore Republic where he was located, even with a secret compound ether spiritual structure, the degree of magical absorption was barely around eighty-nine percent. Moreover, only those who were deemed to have the potential to become legendary masters were qualified to be awarded a spiritual structure cultivation method. To Andrew¡¯s surprise, his diamond spiritual structure was much greater than the former! ¡®If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll recover the strength of a beginner mage faster than I have thought at the beginning.¡¯ Andrew¡¯s heart was pounding in excitement. The next moment, he was shocked again. Because he saw that as the magical power from the outside world continued to enter his spiritual structure, the color of the original red magical power darkened. ¡®The magical power being compressed!¡¯ He was stunned. Through his sensing of the spiritual structure, Andrew could feel that the fire magical power in his consciousness was affected by the extremely tight diamond spiritual structure. It was compressed to only one-fifth of its previous size! And this also meant that he was probably going to absorb five times as much magical power in total! Only then could his spiritual structure be filled. ¡®It¡¯s said that when advancing to a legendary mage, one needs to compress the magical power in their body to absorb a greater total amount of magical power. It was so similar to my current situation!¡¯ Andrew¡¯s enhanced memory made him remember what he had heard from a drunk descendant of a large family when he was a soldier. ¡®Could it be that I can complete the same achievement as a legendary mage when I am a magical apprentice?!¡¯ If Andrew was not meditating, he felt that he would have fainted in excitement because of this huge surprise! Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. He used his incredible spiritual power to mark the red light spots of fire magical power and quickly absorbed them into his spiritual structure. The originally fiery-red diamond structure turned deep-red as time passed by, until¡­ ¡°Phew¡­¡± Andrew let out a breath and opened his eyes abruptly. He still had the energy to absorb the power, but it was awkward that after sensing for a while, Andrew found that all the fire magical power within dozens of square meters had been absorbed by him! ¡®I absorbed all the fire magical power? It is something that only a great mage can do, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Andrew¡¯s expression was complicated. He couldn¡¯t continue his cultivation this day. Becoming a basic mage was very easy. He just needed to fill a single solid spiritual structure with a specific type of magical power, and the spiritual structure that was filled with magical power would be called a node. For example, Andrew planned to create his own fire magical node and return to the level of a beginner mage. Originally, he estimated that he would be able to fill the spiritual structure with the magical power with one practice. But at this moment, he could sense that he had only less than one-tenth of the maximum amount of magical power in his spiritual structure! ¡­ In the following period, Andrew lived a rather fulfilling life. Every night, he would collect all the fire magical power that had been restored in the vicinity of his house. During the day, in order not to let his children worry, he would go out shopping. When he was in a good mood, he would even buy food and cook for Tim and Mary. ¡°Andrew, it¡¯s you again today.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not easy for Tim to break through to become a beginner mage. Now it is the time for him to consolidate his strength. Besides, there¡¯s a chance for Mary to promote as well. As their father, shouldn¡¯t I share the burden with them?¡± Andrew chatted with the vendor who sold magical beast meat. He felt a little helpless. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that every time he cultivated, he drained all the fire magic around him, he wouldn¡¯t have had so much free time during the day. But Andrew was also enjoying such life. During this period, he often cooked, tidied up the house, and communicated with his children. The house was full of happy laughter and cheerful voices these days. Andrew arrived at the gate of his house as he was thinking about his cultivation. Before he took out the key, he heard two familiar voices inside. Tim and Topa were secretly talking with spiritual telepathy. ¡°Tim, I¡¯ve told you very clearly that the wind and the fire are indeed complementary to each other. They are of great help in your cultivation.¡± ¡°But if you insist on becoming a lone mage, it would be best if you learn some plant-type spells. This is the easiest way in which you can heal yourself.¡± ¡°Even if you are not very talented, with the support of my origin star power, you¡¯ll be able to produce the plant-type node within three months.¡± As soon as Andrew opened the door, he found that Topa was sitting very obediently on the sofa. At the same time, Topa was using his consciousness to communicate with Tim patiently. Seeing Andrew, Tim said, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re back,¡± said Tim to his father. Meanwhile, Topa also greeted Andrew. ¡°I got it. I won¡¯t slack off.¡± Tim then said to Topa via spiritual telepathy. Then found that Topa suddenly fell into silence for some reason. It wasn¡¯t until Andrew returned to the study that he heard Topa speak slowly, ¡°Somehow, I feel that your father is getting more and more powerful. Could he be a reclusive powerhouse?¡± Topa muttered to himself, and then denied it. ¡°Impossible! Even a great mage wouldn¡¯t be able to scare me! If your father was that powerful, he wouldn¡¯t be just a beginner mage at an old age!¡± Topa became anxious. Tim also echoed. ¡°Yes. You¡¯re too suspicious. Don¡¯t judge everyone with doubt, okay?¡± He comforted Topa. Topa, however, was not grateful to him. ¡°During this period, for some unknown reason, the magical power of the fire element near our house was drained by someone powerful. Isn¡¯t it normal for me to be a little nervous? If my identity is discovered, both of us will die!¡± On the other side, Andrew listened to the conversation between the two guys in his room. ¡®Could it be that the change in aura caused by the compression of magical power was detected by Topa?¡¯ ¡®Forget it, I¡¯ll restore my powers as a beginner mage in one go today.¡¯ As Andrew pondered, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. A large amount of fire power in the air surged into Andrew¡¯s body. After a while, he opened his eyes and a certain hot aura was faintly lingering around his body. ¡°Good, I¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Andrew smiled. He had become a beginner mage again.. Chapter 7 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Dad, are you going out again? You just came back,¡± Tim asked doubtfully. Andrew nodded calmly. ¡°I forgot to buy butter just now.¡± Then, he left home. Of course, he didn¡¯t return to the supermarket to buy butter. Instead, he wanted to try the spells he had mastered after returning to the level of beginner mage and see if he had become rusty with the spells. However, he couldn¡¯t try it at home. If he damaged the furniture in his house, he would have to buy the new ones, which would cost a lot of money. He went straight to a deserted mountain near the residential area. Originally, it was planned that a magic academy would be built here. However, due to the outbreak of war in the Moore Republic last year, many of the construction plans in the country had been suspended. ¡°It¡¯s convenient for me to try my spells here.¡± Andrew smiled and said. When he was a beginner mage in the past, he had only mastered three types of beginner spells. They were the burning hands, second-rate fireball spell, and the scorching ray. The first two were ordinary attacking spells, and the last was a special spell in the army. The scorching rays could fuse, allowing ordinary soldiers to create a greater power with the help of a joint power. ¡°I¡¯ll try the second-rate fireball spell first and see if I can still successfully use it,¡± Andrew muttered. Then, he gently guided the magical power in his fire magic node to draw a symbol in his consciousness. In ancient times, a mage¡¯s casting often required fixed magic runes that could help a mage construct a specific rune in his consciousness. But with the development of modern magical techniques, the specific meaning of the runes was gradually deciphered, so it was not so troublesome to cast. When the mages in ancient times cast, they copied specific magic runes, which was as difficult as drawing them. A slight mistake could lead to failure. On the contrary, the modern mages understood the runes, so it was much simpler to draw them. ¡°If I remember correctly, the runes for the second-rate fireball spell consist of the concentration of magical power, the release of flames, and small-scale explosion. The order cannot be changed. Two fire-type runes and one general-purpose rune needed.¡± Andrew controlled his consciousness and a rune was formed instantly. He still remembered that it took him about 1.3 seconds to sketch these few runes in his mind back then. This result was already quite excellent because he had practiced this spell repeatedly for dozens of years! But this time he only used 0.3 seconds¨Cthe speed was four times faster! Then an orange-red fireball gathered in his hand and he attacked a huge rock in front of him. ¡®The power of the second-rate fireball spell should be able to leave some scorch marks on this rock. Generally speaking, if a rock can be blasted to crack, the power level of the spell should be above 10 points, and will be considered fully cast.¡¯ Andrew pondered. The speed of drawing runes was of course an advantage, but it did not mean that the spell was successfully cast. Every spell had to reach the upper limit of its power before it could be considered to be fully cast, otherwise, it was only a degraded spell. According to the ¡°General Knowledge Chart of Magical Power¡± released by the blue planet, one power level an explosion/impact type spell was equivalent to a single blow (approximately 10 kg of impact) with the bare hands of an adult Stell (the main race of the Blue Planet). Only when the secondary fireball spell had to reach Level 10, which meant that it could create 100 kg of impact could it be regarded as qualified. ¡®With my magical power and spiritual power, I can reach Lever 10,¡¯ Andrew pondered. Then, he saw that after his fireball came into contact with the rock in front of him, an explosion occurred. Following the violent flames, more than half of the rock was exploded. ¡°This level is probably at least Level 30 or above.¡± Andrew could not help but felt a little excited. ¡®To be able to unleash such power from an ordinary second-rate fireball, I¡¯m afraid I can be considered one of the best among the beginner mages!¡¯ He was thinking about it with some complacency when he suddenly came to his senses and remembered the previous conversation between Topa and his son. According to the standards of Star Race, those true geniuses could use the intermediate spells in the level of the beginner mage with the method of casting spells across levels! ¡®In other words, to casting spells across levels, I should reach Level 50 at least. My second-rate fireball spell is far from reaching that level.¡¯ ¡®Since I am a hundredfold talented now, then I should do my best at every level.¡¯ Andrew frowned and made up his mind. Soon, he had a plan. The second-rate fireball spell was not the most powerful primary fire spell. Moreover, Andrew first learned this spell about 50 years ago. There might be some new magic books published and it was very likely that some magic spells were far stronger and better than the fire spell he was currently practicing. ¡®I need to go to the library first.¡¯ Andrew made a decision. In the Moore Republic, The Mage Council formulated various policies. Although the wars were endless here, there were many facilities that benefited the people, including the public magic library. It mainly helped the mages from poor families raise their strength through self-learning, and it could also help find some hidden geniuses. Of course, it was impossible for the public library to store all of the precious magical materials in the Moore Republic. Some intermediate or advanced magic was very valuable and might not be available in the library. But all books about elementary magic were available. Hence, Andrew was not worried that he would go there in vain. ¡­ After leaving the deserted mountains, Andrew chose to take an ordinary magic airship to the library. The public library was a little far from here and it would take more time to walk there. So he would rather spend some money and went here by airship. About half an hour later, the airship stopped at the library. Andrew walked out with some curiosity. ¡°Has this place been renovated again?¡± He asked. It had been more than twenty years since the last time he came to this library. At that time, the library only covered a small area of about one hundred square meters. At present, its area had been expanded by three times. Moreover, it had been built into a building complex that was about four stories tall. In the direction where Andrew had come from, he could see the words ¡®Public Library of the Moore Republic¡¯ produced by runic power in the sky. After looking around for a while, Andrew did not appreciate the scenery around the library anymore. Instead, he quickly walked into the building where the books about elementary spells were stored. Then, under the guidance of the administrator, he came to a bookshelf to find the books he needed. Andrew casually looked around. Then his eyes lit up and he took out a book called ¡°Beginner¡¯s Ring of Fire Resistance¡± from the bookshelf. He opened the book and saw the introduction on it. This magic was not known for its power but was a life-saving spell. One could use fire magic to create a shockwave to push away the enemies around it. In theory, as long as one didn¡¯t have a death wish, any fire element beginner mage would learn this magic. Back then, Andrew had thought the same, but his talent was too bad and he couldn¡¯t grasp it, so he had been brooding over it. This time, he felt that he could learn this magic again. Andrew flipped through a few pages and roughly understood the composition of the runes for this spell. They were: Concentrated magic, fire release, magic shaping and impact. Three of them were universal runes, and there was only one fire-type rune. ¡°Why does it look so easy?¡± Andrew pondered and casually sketched out these few runes in his mind. This time, what once he felt like a difficult operation for him was done almost effortlessly. Following that, the flames around him expanded rapidly, emitting an awe-inspiring impact! In the next second, the bookshelves around him fell to the ground.. Chapter 8 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Fortunately, the ring of fire resistance was not very powerful, and the books in the public library were protected to a certain extent. Andrew just had to put the bookshelves back in place, so he did not have to pay a heavy price. His success this time made his heart leap with joy. When Andrew was young, he had tried to practice the beginner ring of fire resistance countless times, but all his attempts had failed. This time, it was a natural success. Following that, he turned his gaze to the other magic books. ¡­ ¡®Trail of flames? This spell is quite unpopular.¡¯ Andrew held a magic book in his hand and silently memorized the way the runes were arranged. ¡®Magic power transmission, flame release, magic power attachment, burning and flame survival.¡¯ ¡®No wonder there are so few people learning this beginner spell. There are so many runes, and yet its power is only average. Who would want to learn it?¡¯ Andrew held the magic book in his hand. A bookmark suddenly dropped from it. It must have been left behind by predecessors. He picked it up and found the following words written on it: ¡®I wonder which great mage or legendary mage invented this beginner spell. Its power was just a beginner level, but the difficulty was ridiculously high. I don¡¯t believe any stupid beginner mage would want to learn this thing!¡¯ Andrew was silent. He quietly put the bookmark back into the book, muttering in his heart, ¡®I will.¡¯ He put the book back into the bookshelf and left the library. By airship, he returned to the residential area and went home first. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re back.¡± Mary came over to support him very attentively. Andrew had already gone to the public library every day for more than half a month, and Tim and Mary were already used to it. They didn¡¯t know that their father had regained his strength. They just thought that it was good for Andrew to go to the library and kill the time. Staying at home all day long was not good for his health. Andrew allowed Mary to support him. Then, he took a glance and discovered that Tim and Topa were hiding on the balcony, looking sneaky. At this moment, the two of them had not activated their spiritual communication, so Andrew did not know what they were doing. ¡®They are probably preparing for their cultivation,¡¯ he thought to himself. Soon, the whole family had lunch happily. After that, while Mary went to take a nap, Andrew quietly walked out of the house and headed towards the deserted mountain on foot. He was already very familiar with this process. This was how he had spent the past half a month. ¡°I¡¯ll try the few spells that I learned today.¡± ¡°The speed is still too slow,¡± Andrew said softly. If anyone else were to come to the deserted mountain, they would probably be angered to death by his words. One had to know that to learn a spell, it would take at least a few days. Whereas for Andrew, who could learn a few spells in a day, what else was there for him to be dissatisfied about? ¡°Flame pulse!¡± Andrew waved his hand lightly, and immediately, a tree in front of him suffered the continuous attack of about ten waves of flames. The power was enough to char a piece of good wood. ¡°The power is twice as greater as what was recorded in the book. Has it reached Level 27? Not bad. Next one.¡± Andrew nodded. ¡°Enchanting flame.¡± He gently picked up the kitchen knife he brought from home and wiped it with his finger. In the blink of an eye, the blade that was originally flashing with a cold light turned fiery red. Andrew casually chopped it onto the surrounding rocks. Using the blade that had been blessed with the power of fire, he easily cut the rocks into two halves. Looking at the cutting surface, he could see that some parts of the rocks that came into contact with the blade were almost melted by the fire. ¡°It was not recorded in the magic book that there would be a melting phenomenon. As expected, the power has increased a lot.¡± Andrew nodded his head in satisfaction. ¡­ ¡°Then the last one¡ªthe trail of flames.¡± Andrew outlined the set of complicated runes. After that, he felt that his feet seemed to be burning. He took a few steps forward and found that there were flames about half a man high around where he had walked past. After sensing the spell¡¯s power, Andrew noticed that its power was around Level 20. What was even more surprising was that the flame had remained on the spot for more than three minutes before slowly dissipating. ¡°Looks like this spell isn¡¯t that bad. Although it¡¯s a little complicated and its power is only average, its continuous destructive power is very strong. If it is popularized in the army, it will probably have a miraculous effect.¡± Andrew was in a good mood. These days, he went to the library and the barren mountain every day to continuously practice all kinds of beginner spells. To be honest, it was quite boring, so whenever he discovered some magic phenomena that were not recorded in the books, it would get him excited for a long time. During this process, Andrew had changed his viewpoint on his understanding of fire magic. He could now directly sense the energy level of the spells he released through his own spiritual power. ¡®However, this should be the 127th beginner fire spell. I¡¯ve already learned all the beginner fire spells recorded in the library.¡¯ He stretched the physique slightly. The ¡®trail of flames¡¯ spell was difficult. It had consumed a lot of Andrew¡¯s energy, and he was prepared to meditate for a while. Andrew had just activated his spiritual power when he was surprised to find that the surrounding fire magic power had been completely exhausted after he tried the spells several times. This was actually a normal phenomenon, but a trace of doubt rose in Andrew¡¯s heart. ¡°Something was wrong with it. Today, I¡¯ve only tested about seven types of spells, which is considered a small number.¡± ¡°At most I cast thirteen types of spells in a day. Each time, although I can feel the fire magic power gradually dried up in the air, I can still successfully cast the spells in the end. Why?¡± He was slightly puzzled. As a former beginner mage, although Andrew worked hard enough, he was completely unaware of many of the principles behind the spells. In the past, he might still have been clueless after practicing nearly a hundred fire spells. But at this time, Andrew had vaguely grasped the principle. ¡®It seems that every fire spell consists of a rune called fire release, right?¡¯ ¡®This rune is not that simple.¡¯ Andrew casually outlined this rune in his mind, but it did not form any magic spells. In an instant, he seemed to have sensed a fluctuation between heaven and earth, but then it slowly disappeared. ¡®This shouldn¡¯t be an illusion, right?¡¯ Andrew was mentally prepared. After a short rest, he quickly outlined the rune called fire release again. This time, he directly rushed his spiritual power into the fluctuation caused by the rune. The next moment, Andrew revealed an extremely shocked expression because his spiritual power had entered a world that was completely made of flames. This world was not empty. He could sense that many special creatures were in the flames and they were curiously looking at him. Then Andrew sensed that the fluctuations of the runes appeared. And one of the special creatures injected a wave of flames into the fluctuations. ¡®So it is.¡¯ Andrew suddenly understood everything. ¡®It makes sense! In reality, the runes didn¡¯t convert magic power from the air into flames. Instead, they connected the magic power with this world made of flames. After communication, these creatures would inject power into the fluctuations. Finally, a fire-type magic formed.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s why after the magic power in the air is exhausted, I can still cast magic!¡¯ ¡®The fire spirits in this world are the source of magic that I cast!¡¯ Andrew was satisfied with this revelation. He had originally planned to return to his body from this world. However, when he looked at those fire-type creatures who could command the flames more easily than him, as well as their bodies that were made of magic power, a bold idea arose in his heart. Since the creatures all had magic power, would his magic power be further improved if he absorbed these creatures into his magic nodes? Chapter 9 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Andrew wasn¡¯t that reckless. First, he observed for a while and then tried to approach a small creature. The latter didn¡¯t react at all and continued to wander around in this world of fire magic without any scruples. After observing for about a quarter, Andrew suddenly moved! Although he was only a beginner mage, he already had spiritual strength that far exceeded that of an intermediate mage. He instantly erupted with an extremely strong pulling force. To his surprise, the creature called fire spirit did not resist at all. It was pulled out by Andrew from the fire element world and forcefully brought into Andrew¡¯s consciousness. ¡°It seems that I¡¯ve succeeded!¡± A hint of joy flashed across Andrew¡¯s eyes. In the world of the fire spirits just now, he was worried that his rash actions would lead to an attack. But since he could bring the fire spirits to his consciousness easily, he had no worries! At this moment, the fire spirit finally realized that it had been caught. It struggled desperately to transform into violent flames, wanting to rush out of Andrew¡¯s consciousness. Andrew didn¡¯t give it a chance at all. He pushed the fire element magic node of his diamond spiritual structure and directly collided with the fire spirit! ¡°Come in!¡± Andrew forcefully patted the fire spirits. The fire spirits shattered into pieces, then Andrew absorbed it into his magic node. In just three breaths, an extremely pure power was completely absorbed into Andrew¡¯s diamond spiritual structure node. Andrew¡¯s mind was also jolted. He could feel that even though the magical power he had stored did not increase much, its essence seemed to have been enhanced. He could feel that he had a further improvement in his understanding of fire magic. ¡®It¡¯s a really good thing.¡¯ Andrew exited the meditative state somewhat excitedly. He then waved his hand and quickly formed a rune of the second-rate fireball spell. A fiery-red ball appeared on his palm. But before it was released, Andrew¡¯s expression froze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The energy level is no different from before.¡± Although Andrew could faintly feel that with his hundredfold talent, his magical power had increased, this increase did not seem to have any effect. ¡®What happened?¡¯ He calmed himself down and sensed the situation in his magic nodes. He discovered that the body of the fire spirit had dissipated and was floating in the nodes in his consciousness. However, he did not know why he could only mobilize original magic power. He had no way of using the absorbed fire spirit to do anything for him. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Andrew was a little bewildered. It seemed like¡­He had done all this for nothing? ¡­ Andrew leaned against the bookshelf of the public library, with a book called ¡®The Simplified History of the Magic Runes¡¯ in his hand. He casually flipped through the book. The contents of the book broadened his horizons. The earliest runes dated back to the observation of some elemental creatures and magical beasts that were born with the ability to use magic. However, there were too many unuseful parts in these naturally generated runes. With the development of the mage civilization and through research, people were able to grasp the essence of runes such as the concentration of flames and the persistence of combustion, thus determining the part that brought about magical effects in the runes. By eliminating the content that was ineffective in the runes and reducing the complexity, mages could use less spiritual energy to cast stronger spells. ¡®It¡¯s so amazing. It¡¯s the research of these ancestors that made the magic beasts becoming increasingly unable to contend with us.¡¯ Andrew sighed in admiration and his mind drifted. The book in his hand was just an ordinary book that was not of much help for his cultivation. He just wanted to find some information about the fire spirits from these popular science books. However, Andrew had been busy for a whole day and still had not found anything helpful. ¡®There¡¯s not a single book that records the fire spirit?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s impossible. The only explanation is that the relevant knowledge is not available for free.¡¯ As he thought about it, he had a headache. ¡®Since the fire spirit can be absorbed into the node, it can¡¯t be useless!¡¯ ¡®How on earth can I make full use of this spirit? Would they only be affected when I activated the rune of fire release?¡¯ Andrew thought about it. Suddenly, his face froze as he realized something. ¡®The fire spirits that exist in the fire element world will be affected by the rune of fire release in the outside world, and will automatically inject fire-type power to the world.¡¯ ¡®Does this mean that this rune has a special effect on the fire spirits? I can¡¯t use their power after the rune took into effect. But if I try to control the fire spirit while drawing the runes, will it work? Will it have an effect?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s possible!¡¯ Andrew patted his thigh excitedly. The more he thought about it, the more he believe his guess. He was not in the mood to stay in the library anymore. He put the book in his hand back on the bookshelf and dashed out. The other mages who came to read frowned and think with a disdained look. ¡®It must be another mediocre mage who thinks he has learned something.¡¯ ¡­ Two hours later, Andrew, who was out of breath, arrived at the deserted mountain. ¡®I¡¯ll try with the second-rate fireball spell first,¡¯ he thought for a moment and made a decision. Then, he quickly outlined the runes in his mind. ¡®First is the concentrated magic, and then the fire release¡­¡¯ ¡®Yes! The moment is coming!¡¯ When Andrew was condensing the second rune, he suddenly could activate the power of the fire spirits that were shining with a special light in his magic power node. The fire spirits, which didn¡¯t react no matter how hard he tried to activate it previously, reacted this time. They were successfully extracted by Andrew and merged into the rune. ¡°Wait a minute¡­This is¡­¡± Andrew was a little stunned because what had happened was not what he had imagined. After activating the fire spirits, the fire magical power that was triggered by fire release became even purer. It could provide some additional power, but that was not the main point. What made Andrew both surprised and happy was that after he successfully activated the fire spirits, his mind was once again connected to the world of the fire element. However, this time he did not simply witness the situation in that world. Instead, he observed some strange fragments. Just like what happened when he was cultivating the mysterious meditation technique, some knowledge rushed into his mind. In the blink of an eye, Andrew outlined an optimized plan for a Level 4 fireball spell. With the runes of the ¡®concentrated magic¡¯ and the ¡®fire release¡¯, the spell could have been completed by adding the rune called small burst. However, Andrew didn¡¯t do that. Instead, he quickly sketched out a new rune in his mind. ¡°Blazing light!¡± When he finished it, he also understood the name of this rune. He recalled the contents of the book that he had read in the library. He immediately realized that this was a primitive rune. The pattern looked rather complicated and dense. ¡°Maybe after I decipher this rune, I can optimize it and turn it into a simpler form.¡± Andrew was still thinking, and he had instinctively drawn the rune of small burst. The second-rate fireball spell took effect. No, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to call it in such a way. Andrew found that a light ball that was emitting light and heat like the sun appeared in his hand. When he looked at it, he felt like his eyes were being burned. ¡°Go.¡± Andrew gently waved his hand, and the fireball flew forward. The dazzling light scattered, and after half a second the sound of an explosion was heard. For a moment, the rocks were crushed and the trees collapsed. When the fire dissipated, Andrew noticed that a large pit nearly ten meters deep appeared in front of him. ¡°The power¡­ I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s over Level One hundred.¡± Andrew was shocked by the scene he saw. There was no doubt that even among intermediate-level spells, this spell was quite powerful. ¡°According to Topa, I¡¯ve already reached the standard of a genius in Star Race?¡± Andrew looked at the scene before him and suddenly felt that success came too easily. He couldn¡¯t feel any joy from his success.. Chapter 10 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°I see. That¡¯s how the fire spirit is used.¡± Andrew found the crux. At first, he instinctively felt that he could use the power of this fire spirit to increase his magic power and cause more damage. However, this was not the case in reality. To a mage, although spiritual power and magic power were important, what was more important was knowledge. Andrew¡¯s spiritual power and magic power had not improved much in the past half a month, but his overall strength had increased by several times with the help of the hundreds of fire-type spells he had learned in the library and the special runes he had obtained through the fire spirit! ¡®Just now, when I used the second-rate fireball spell, I used the runes released by the fire to communicate with the fire element world and obtained the knowledge.¡¯ ¡®What would happen if I tried using another spell?¡¯ Andrew¡¯s heart was filled with anticipation. ¡°Burning hands,¡± he muttered. ¡°Magic attachment, fire release¡­¡± He quickly outlined the runes and then once again activated the power of the fire spirit. As expected, he was once again drawn into the fire element world. However, when Andrew wanted to memorize the knowledge presented, he felt dizzy. It seemed that after he memorized the ¡®blazing light¡¯, the total number of runes that he could remember in a short period had reached the upper limit. Therefore, after a wave of dizziness, he could only helplessly leave this world. Even the casting of the spell ¡®burning hands¡¯ had failed. ¡®Alright, although I have temporarily understood the initial usage of this fire spirit, it is indeed not so easy to obtain knowledge without restrictions.¡¯ Andrew shook his head helplessly. Just now, he could have memorized the new runes presented, but it would undoubtedly cause great damage to his spiritual state. In his opinion, since he had the ability to communicate with the fire elemental world, there was no need to rush. ¡°I once heard that the level of great mages was the start level of researching magic. The great mages were able to turn ordinary spells into magical ones. Could it be that they obtained new knowledge by communicating with the elemental world via the elemental spirits?¡± Andrew¡¯s head was spinning, so he had to have a rest. He sat on the grass and pondered. His spiritual strength had far exceeded the average strength of his current level, but he was exhausted just after memorizing some runic knowledge. Therefore, he would have to be an advanced mage or even a great mage in order to communicate effectively with the elemental world. ¡®However, I¡¯m not too sure if ¡®casting spells across levels¡¯ used by the geniuses in Star Race is the same thing as what I did.¡¯ Although Andrew felt that his guess was somewhat reliable, he was not sure of it. After all, his greatest achievement in the past decades was just becoming a beginner mage. He still knew too little about the world. ¡®It¡¯s useless no matter how much I guess here. If I want to verify my guess, I¡¯ll have to go to Magic Association,¡¯ Andrew thought. ¡®But if I want to borrow books there, I can¡¯t hide my strength.¡¯ ¡®All right. I¡¯ll restore my identity as a beginner mage. I¡¯ve made a reservation.¡¯ After that, Andrew stood up and tidied up his clothes. He left the deserted mountain and head to the nearest branch of Magic Association in the residential area. ¡­ In the Moore Republic, Magic Association was a very important part of the country. Not only did it have the ability to assess the strength of mages and provide them with allowance, but it also played a role as a local government. In other words, mages who were strong enough in this country could easily take up official positions. However, Andrew had no interest in taking up any official positions. He only hoped that the resources of Magic Association could help him with his cultivation. Soon, Andrew arrived at a golden and resplendent gate. This building in front of him seemed to be out of place with the buildings in the residential areas. It was formed by four mage towers that were about seven to eight stories tall. Above each mage tower elements of different attributes were floating, and the elements intermingled with each other, forming a rather colorful protective barrier. ¡°Rafax City Magic Association branch.¡± Andrew slowly read out the words. The last time he came here, he was like a stray dog. He failed to pass the assessment of a beginner mage and was deprived of his allowance. At this moment, Andrew was calm. He took two steps, entered the protective shield, and felt pressure on his body. The protective shield was made by Magic Association to prevent people from making trouble here. However, what surprised Andrew was that he felt that he could easily break free from the restrictions that once prevented him from casting magic at this time. There were not many people in the association. Andrew quickly walked into the Mage Tower in the middle, which was the center of the Association. The mage level assessment was also conducted here. When Andrew stepped on the red velvet carpet and looked around, he only saw a few people carrying piles of research materials and hurriedly walking past without even looking at him. However, Andrew didn¡¯t care and was happy to be alone. After making a few turns according to his memory, he came to a hall. Then, he politely asked the person who was in charge of the assessment and standing in the front of the hall. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m here to restore my identity as a beginner mage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Andrew, I¡¯ve made a reservation before.¡± After Andrew finished his words, the tester did not immediately respond. Instead, he slowly closed the book in his hand and said impatiently. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± The tester then took out a golden card and placed it on a groove aside. He casually looked at the data on the screen and then smiled disdainfully, saying, ¡°Andrew, 100 years old. You were degraded to the level of mage apprentice last month. Now you want to take a test and restore your previous level? Is that right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Andrew replied calmly. The tester in front of Andrew looked rather rude, but Andrew was older than him and didn¡¯t bother to argue with such a junior. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no need for you to waste your time.¡± The tester still had a disdainful look on his face. Generally speaking, a mage¡¯s spiritual strength would continue to grow with age. However, if one couldn¡¯t reach the level of a great mage, their spiritual power and magic power would decline after eighty years old. ¡°You are just a magic apprentice now. What¡¯s the point of testing again? It¡¯s just a waste of your strength.¡± The tester said presumptuously. He felt that Andrew was detestable and was wasting the time of both of them. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Andrew furrowed slightly, and there was a hint of displeasure in his eyes. The tester just sneered and thought with disdain, ¡®You have worked for nearly sixty to seventy years, and you are still just a beginner mage. You have a so lousy talent but you still look forward to a promotion.¡¯ He showed a cold look and said in a businesslike manner, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to waste time, then come on.¡± As he said this, he shook his head and walked out of the hall, leading Andrew to another room. ¡®Forget it, there are many people like him in the Magic Association, and there¡¯s no need to mind his attitude. It¡¯s okay as long as I can achieve my goal.¡¯ Andrew thought and followed him. The two of them walked into a room. Then Andrew saw a target made of some kind of jade in the middle of the room. There were also a few wires connected to an LCD screen aside. It seemed that the screen could show the level of one¡¯s magic power. The tester said mockingly, ¡°To pass the assessment for a beginner mage, you just need to cast a spell with Level Ten.¡± After saying that, he leaned against the wall in boredom, getting ready to laugh at Andrew. The battles on Blue Planet were endless, so the assessment of each country was simple and crude. As long as the power of your spell reached the standard, you could be considered a mage of the corresponding level. After all, almost no one on this planet knew about how to cast spells across levels. ¡®This old fart is already half dead. I¡¯m afraid he might not even be able to cast a Level Five spell.¡¯ The tester sneered. Suddenly, he felt heat in front of him. It seemed that a ray of light quickly flashed. ¡°Did I succeed?¡± Andrew calmly withdrew his palm. ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± The tester flew into a rage. He thought Andrew was not serious about the test at all. Then the next second, he felt a huge impact coming from behind him. The impact directly slammed him against the wall. When he flew into the air, he heard an explosion. Before he was hit against the wall, he turned his head with difficulty. Then he saw an extremely horrifying scene. The test equipment that only an intermediate mage could destroy had been broken into pieces! Even the LCD screen was burned and melted into liquid! ¡°How is this possible? What kind of monster is that old man¡­¡± The tester was slammed against the wall and fell into a coma.. Chapter 11 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The tester did not lose consciousness for too long. Part of the reason for his earlier arrogance was his relatively good magical power. He was just one step away from breaking through to become a beginner mage. When he regained consciousness again, he looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief. ¡°How ¡­ how is this possible?¡± he said with a trembling voice. He knew that the sign used to test a beginner mage used a special substance called the magic absorption jade. This mineral had a limit to the amount of magic it could absorb depending on its quality. As the Magic Association was distributed all over the country, the quality of the magic absorption jade that was used to test a beginner mage could not be too good. However, it could at least withstand spells that were equivalent to intermediate mages with power below level 80. In the end, it was destroyed by this old man who claimed to be here to restore his identity as a beginner mage with a casual fireball! ¡°You¡­¡± The tester walked to Andrew¡¯s side with some trepidation. In his eyes, this old man was now simply unfathomable. He did not even dare to say another word, afraid that his previous attitude would provoke this person to kill him. That spell just now could be considered to be one of the most powerful spells even among intermediate spells! Yet, the tester had just offended him like that. Now, he was already feeling very sorry for having taunted this powerful man earlier. He wished he could travel back in time to slap himself in the face. When Andrew saw this scene from the side, he knew what the tester was thinking. He could not be bothered with the other party¡¯s attitude of wanting to curry favor but not daring to. He said coldly, ¡°How is it? I¡¯ve passed, right?¡± ¡°Of course ¡­ you ¡­ passed!¡± The tester trembled as he pressed his handprint. Then, he took out a badge from the box that popped up and handed it to Andrew. ¡°This is your proof of being a beginner mage,¡± the tester said timidly. Meanwhile, Andrew nodded his head calmly. The badge on his palm outlined a shape similar to a flame, representing the fire element. At the same time, there was a tiny diamond inlaid at the bottom, proving the identity of a beginner mage. ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Andrew said this calmly, frightening the tester. Then, he left the room without looking back. Although he had already become a beginner mage, it would still take a day or two to enter the information. At this time, he could not immediately borrow books from the Association, so Andrew decided to go home to rest. Seeing that Andrew had left, the tester sat there for a long time before he came back to his senses with cold sweat. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that he didn¡¯t do anything to me¡­¡± He was in disbelief. Then, as if he had just woken up from a dream, he quickly walked to the equipment in the testing room and took out a photo of the magic crystals being used. He jogged to another Mage Tower and went up to an office on the top floor, where the vice president of the Magic Association was located. ¡­ ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?¡± Lanza was holding a cup of coffee in his hand. He leisurely used a quill to write and draw on the table, preparing to complete a related thesis on the special application of water elements after purification. At this moment, he realized that his nephew was running over in a panic. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to think twice before doing anything? Don¡¯t get too excited,¡± Lanza criticized unhappily. As for his nephew, who was also Andrew¡¯s previous tester, he cried out in fear. ¡°Uncle, we have an extremely terrifying beginner mage!¡± ¡°What?¡± Lanza was stunned. He took the photographic crystal from the tester¡¯s hand and injected magic power into it. A scene instantly appeared in front of his eyes. It was Andrew who snapped his fingers casually. Then, a dazzling fireball appeared and smashed fiercely at the target. Below it was an explosion. The target and everything around it were destroyed! ¡°This is¡­¡± Lanza¡¯s eyes widened, and then he looked at his nephew in disbelief. ¡°You call this a beginner mage! This is an intermediate mage, okay? Are you out of your mind?¡± Lanza could tell at a glance that the speed and power of the fireball were inconceivable! That seemingly weathered old man had been cultivating in the intermediate mage realm for many years! Only then could he possess such a level of power. ¡°An ordinary intermediate mage would not be able to cause such damage and destruction so easily!¡± ¡°Then¡­then what should we do? I seem to have offended him a little earlier.¡± The tester was scared out of his wits when he heard that. He did not make any sense and recounted the process of how he had offended him earlier. Lanza, on the other hand, only frowned. He pondered and then comforted him. ¡°It¡¯s alright. That old man doesn¡¯t seem to be someone who holds grudges.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, go back and rest first.¡± The vice president of the Magic Association coaxed his nephew away with a few words, but he had other thoughts in mind. ¡°This mage is so powerful! I wish I could have his friendship, even at the expense of my nephew!¡± He pondered, then thought for a while and took the call. He contacted the President of the Magic Association who was out, he also sent the video content to him using the video transmission machine. To Lanza¡¯s surprise, the call did not go through. Instead, there was a response from the transmission machine first. It was the president himself. ¡°Try to win that old man over at all costs!¡± ¡°Does the president think so highly of him?¡± Lanza was stunned. He left his office and went to the testing site to search for information. He found a resume of Andrew. He looked at Andrew¡¯s experience and fell into deep thought. ¡°He broke through to become a beginner mage at the age of 40. Then, he was seriously injured in the war.¡± ¡°Recently, he fell back to the realm of a magic apprentice. He¡¯s 100 years old.¡± Lanza was stunned. He was a little confused. According to his deduction, this old man had broken through to the realm of an intermediate mage many years ago. However, he did not know why his resume did not match at all! ¡°For what reason has this person been hiding his strength?¡± The vice president pondered, but he could not come up with an answer. ¡­ On the other side, after Andrew finished his dinner and was about to return to the study to cultivate, he suddenly received an unexpected phone call. ¡°You want me to become a Fellow of the Magic Association?¡± He asked over the phone. The other party was the vice president, Lanza, and his tone was very respectful. ¡°I know that you¡¯ve been hiding your strength. You have your reasons, so we would never bother you unless our Magic Association was in trouble. What do you think?¡± He offered a rather tempting condition. ¡°Moreover, compared to the other Fellows, your treatment will not be any less,¡± Lanza said. Subconsciously, Andrew wanted to reject him. In his life in the army, he had been oppressed by the relationship between superiors and subordinates, so he had no intention of joining the official organization. However, he did not reject him. ¡®I always wanted to borrow the books in the Magic Association. If I became a Fellow, I would be able to find more information than an ordinary beginner mage.¡¯ ¡®Moreover, although my cultivation speed is already unbelievably fast, the magic power in the air is ultimately limited. If I join the Association, I might be able to obtain more resources.¡¯ ¡®In addition, only need to lend a helping hand when the Association is in danger. It¡¯s very likely that I¡¯ll be able to enjoy the benefits for free, and won¡¯t have to pay anything. From the looks of it, it seems that I¡¯ll earn quite a bit.¡¯ Andrew analyzed it carefully and felt that the best way was to agree. Thus, he spoke quietly, ¡°Since the Magic Association is so sincere, how can I not agree?¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± When Lanza was about to speak, Andrew interrupted him again. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the benefits and remuneration first..¡± Chapter 12 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Then what kind of treatment do you need?¡± Lanza¡¯s tone was a little dry. He was sure that Andrew would ask for a lot of resources. After checking the information earlier, he still could not understand why Andrew wanted to hide his strength. However, there was one thing that he realized later on. The power of that extremely fast fireball was quite terrifying! It was definitely not something that an average intermediate mage could master. Although beginner level spells could be easily found in the public library, spells of a higher level were usually precious knowledge that the various large factions kept in their own private collections. Andrew¡¯s strange fireball¡­ was definitely not cheap. This meant that either Andrew had some fortuitous encounter, or he must have a large faction behind him! No matter what it was, it was worth the Magic Association¡¯s branch trying their best to rope him in. Thus, Lanza spoke up very quickly. ¡°Feel free to mention the conditions. I¡¯ll try my best to satisfy whatever I can.¡± The vice president decided to build a good relationship with this mysterious powerhouse. In any case, he was spending the Magic Association¡¯s resources to build a good relationship with this old master Andrew. So, why not? Andrew heard the other party¡¯s intentions through the phone, so he spoke directly without holding back. ¡°I request the authority to train in the Magic Crystal Room for 15 days a month.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lanza agreed straightforwardly, which surprised Andrew. It should be known that an ordinary beginner mage could only apply to train in the Magic Crystal Room for one day a month at most, and even for someone as talented as Andrew once was, he wouldn¡¯t dare presume to get that kind of treatment. Even if he became a Fellow, the request of 15 days was ridiculously high! This was a treat only available to big shots at the level of the President of the Association! Andrew originally thought that the other party would definitely haggle over the request, but he actually agreed without hesitation. ¡°In addition, regarding the Association¡¯s library, I want to borrow it unconditionally.¡± Following that, Andrew gave another condition in a somewhat strange manner. This time, Lanza¡¯s tone was much more relaxed. He could just flip through the books in the library. Since he couldn¡¯t take them away anyway, he agreed to it even more straightforwardly. ¡°Alright, since you have this intention, we will immediately give you permanent access to the library.¡± Seeing the other party¡¯s enthusiasm, Andrew was momentarily speechless. He even began to wonder if the request he had just made was too low. After thinking about it, he felt that these resources were enough for him to cultivate, so he responded with a satisfied tone. ¡°Very good, then I¡¯ll come and complete the procedures tomorrow. It¡¯s my honor to be invited by the Association.¡± ¡­ ¡®I actually came back on the second day.¡¯ Andrew looked at the few Mage Towers in front of him and felt stunned. Originally, he thought that with the efficiency of the Association, he would have to wait at least half a week before he could come over to borrow books. In the end, he had just finished his test when he suddenly became a Fellow of the Association and returned here. Before Andrew had the time to walk forward, the tester from yesterday had walked over eagerly and fearfully. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re here. The vice president is already waiting for you.¡± As he spoke, he bowed respectfully, completely acting like a servant. Seeing the other party¡¯s courteous attitude, Andrew was too lazy to flare up, so he only spoke indifferently. ¡°Take me to see your vice president.¡± When the tester saw that he had not received any punishment, a trace of joy appeared on his face, and he even ran along capriciously. ¡°Please follow me.¡± After about three minutes, the two of them arrived at the Mage Tower on the left side of the Association. After going up through the elevator, Andrew finally saw the vice president who had agreed to all his demands the day before. The other party was quite enthusiastic and eagerly welcomed him. ¡°Mr. Smith, with you joining our Magic Association, I feel much more at ease.¡± Andrew¡¯s attitude was not bad either. ¡°No problem, vice president. Your generosity also pleasantly surprised me.¡± When he spoke, there was some sincerity in his words. After all, it was considered good if an ordinary Fellow of the Magic Association received even half of this treatment. Seeing this, Lanza only smiled casually. ¡°It¡¯s only right for a powerhouse like you to receive more treatment, isn¡¯t it? Otherwise, it would be humiliating for you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still like what I said before. You can use these resources as you wish, as long as you lend a hand when the Association is in trouble.¡± ¡°Yes, no problem.¡± Andrew nodded, then spoke again. ¡°But I have another request¡­¡± Seeing the vice president Lanza¡¯s strange expression, Andrew continued to explain. ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem. I hope you won¡¯t tell anyone about my status as a Fellow. I don¡¯t want my two children to cause trouble outside because of my status.¡± ¡°And I have my own reasons for hiding it from them.¡± Andrew deliberately made it unclear. The vice president immediately said with a smile. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s no problem.¡± Then, he came over with some eagerness. ¡°Mr. Smith, there¡¯s a tea party at my house tonight. Do you want to¡­¡± Andrew completely ignored the invitation. After he received the promise, he said straightforwardly, ¡°You see, I came here today because I wanted to go to the library to look for some information. I wonder if I can go over first?¡± Seeing the other party speak in this manner, Lanza¡¯s movements froze for a moment. However, his social skills were very good, so he immediately said with a smile on his face, ¡°Of course you can. This is the resource that we agreed on. Mr. Smith, this is a good opportunity to test if the books in our Association¡¯s collection can catch your eye.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to this.¡± Andrew nodded. Then, the tester from before came over again. ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡­ After entering the library, Andrew randomly found a reason to send the tester away. Then, he looked around excitedly. ¡®Sure enough, the books in the Association¡¯s collection are much better than those in the public library.¡¯ He casually skimmed through and found records of several rare spells. ¡°Constant Temperature Radiation, Primitive Illumination Spell, Plasma Fireball, Poison Fire Blast¡­¡± Andrew read out a series of names. Many of these spells were close to being lost and had a collection value. There were also some powerful modified spells that could not be found in the public library. In addition, Andrew also discovered that some of the local mages¡¯ insights were also recorded in the book. ¡®Introduction to Casting Materials, On The Effects of High-concentration Alcohol on Fire Spells, How to Change The Core Material Structure of Meteorite Spells, On The Classification of Sound Wave Spells¡­¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s quite valuable.¡¯ Andrew¡¯s goal was not these spells, although he did not mind. When he was free, he would practice these spells that he had not learned before. As for those insights, with his current level, he did not need to come into contact with them too early. They often involved the combined effects of several attributes. ¡°What I need to look for now is more information about the fire spirit and some basic knowledge about the magic practice after the beginner mage.¡± As Andrew muttered, he quickly found his first target for the day. He pulled out a book called ¡®Introduction to Magic Nodes¡¯ from the bookshelf.. Chapter 13 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Regarding the magic nodes, Andrew¡¯s previous understanding was that magic power could be converted into a node simply by fusing the entire structure of the spiritual power into the magic power. It was simply an energy storage device. However, according to the information in this ¡°Introduction to magic nodes¡±, there were some uncommon and special ways to use the magic power nodes. The most common way was to optimize a spell according to one¡¯s different spiritual power characteristics. For example, the second-rate fireball spell, which was the most proficient fire element beginner spell that Andrew had practiced before, was made up of three fixed runes including concentrated magic, fire release, and small burst. As a mage¡¯s strength increased, the mage could inject more runes into the spell to optimize its performance. Due to the differences like each person¡¯s spiritual strength, the types of new runes that could be added to the optimization were also different. ¡®According to the book, if magic is tested in the outside world, few mages would be able to succeed due to the huge consumption.¡¯ ¡®However, the magic nodes are made from some relatively high-level spiritual structures. They can simulate the casting of spells inside until they find the most suitable runes.¡¯ ¡®Moreover, after successfully optimizing the spells, it will also allow the mage to have a deeper understanding of the relevant elements, and the increase in strength after upgrading will also be greater.¡¯ ¡®Why is this method so similar to how I communicated with the flame elemental world and obtained new runes to upgrade the spells?¡¯ Andrew rubbed his temples. He felt that his guess was probably correct. A great mage indeed needed to obtain additional knowledge to optimize the spells to awaken his so-called understanding of the arcane. Although this process did not begin until he had advanced to the level of a great mage, he could practice in advance from the time he was a beginner mage. ¡®Using the spells optimized by the nodes can be called advanced magic. Using the powerful runes obtained from the elemental world can allow one to comprehend an existence similar to the arcane. If that¡¯s the case, the second-rate fireball spell that I added with blazing light should be considered arcane magic. nd it was cast by a beginner mage like me.¡¯ Andrew nodded as if he had figured out what had happened to him. Then, his eyes lit up again. ¡®Then I have something to do now. I¡¯ll first optimize all the hundreds of spells that I¡¯ve learned.¡¯ He pondered with some fighting spirit. Since he had already activated his hundredfold talent, Andrew would not be in a rush to level up like an ordinary mage. Instead, he would absorb all the insights that could be gained after optimizing the spells and accumulate his foundation to the limit, before he even considered the problem of advancing to an intermediate mage. ¡®It won¡¯t take long anyway.¡¯ Andrew was very confident. In the following period, he once again sank into a routine life. He went home to enjoy family life with Tim and Mary, went to the library to read books and researched advanced magic, finally, he went to the deserted mountains to test the results of his studies. What made Andrew regretful was that he had not been able to obtain new arcane level runic knowledge. It seemed that the cooldown time for the last absorption had not passed yet. ¡®Although I have not been able to obtain the new arcane level of magic, the current situation is still pretty good.¡¯ Andrew half-closed his eyes. The fire magic power node in his mind had already undergone a huge change compared to some time ago. If it could be said that it had originally felt like a container containing flames, but now, it had almost turned into the concept of flames itself! In this state, Andrew had already cultivated to his limit as a fire element beginner mage. Only after he had truly reached this limit did he realize how much benefit he had gained from using the method recorded in the book that introduced the special usage of the magic nodes to temper himself. To advance to an intermediate mage, one needed to construct two magic nodes of the same element. With Andrew¡¯s current full understanding of the power of the fire element, when he established the second node, he would be able to double the result with half the effort, and he would be able to cultivate it right from the start. Compared to the outside world, his magical power would be purer. This meant that after advancing to an intermediate mage, the quality of Andrew¡¯s magical power would still be superior to those of the same level. Almost no one would be able to compete with him. After all, he did not know if he could find another person like him, who had cultivated and improved hundreds of elemental spells. ¡®Now that I want to break through to an intermediate mage, it¡¯s time to use my other perk.¡¯ While he was in a good mood, Andrew took out his phone and called the vice president who had strongly invited him to join the Magic Association. ¡°Mr. Lanza, I¡¯m applying to use the magic crystal training room now. I feel like I¡¯m about to break through,¡± Andrew said calmly, but he seemed to hear the sound of something falling from the other end of the phone. ¡°What?! You¡¯re about to break through? I¡¯ll immediately make room for you!¡± Lanza cried out excitedly. He had never expected that this intermediate mage, who seemed to be extremely strong, would advance not long after becoming a Fellow of the Association! This made him feel that it was worth the huge cost of roping Andrew in earlier. It was even¡­ a huge profit! Andrew was a little surprised. The other party was straightforward. Without thinking too much, he obtained the permit and directly walked towards the magic crystal training room. ¡®When I absorb magic power in the air, the speed of cultivation is not bad. However, if the surrounding fire elemental energy is constantly sucked out, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion of some people.¡¯ ¡®Moreover, waiting for the magic power to recover also requires time.¡¯ ¡®Once I enter that magic crystal training room, there should be no such worries.¡¯ Andrew felt a little pleasantly surprised. Although his main purpose in joining the Association was to gain knowledge, other perks were also useful. On the contrary, up until one reached the realm of a great mage, this magic crystal training room caused a huge increase in the speed of one¡¯s advancement. It provided an environment with a high concentration of magic power, accelerated the recovery of spiritual power, and increased the efficiency of meditation. The only drawback was that it was extremely expensive to build! It required a large amount of natural magic ore, and only an organization like the Magic Association that relied on the power of the country could build it. As he was thinking, Andrew had already walked to the Mage Tower at the back of the Association. This was the strongest point, protected by the entire Association. The dense magic power had almost completely sealed off the surrounding space, and even Andrew felt a little pressured. ¡®As expected, the magic crystal training room is the most important treasure of the Association..¡¯ Chapter 14 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡®It is a nice place.¡¯ Andrew sat upright on a cushion woven from the feathers of the firebird, feeling rather carefree. The firebird was a type of magic beast with intermediate strength. As its feathers could support the cultivation of fire element mages very well, it had been hunted to near extinction. Just this cushion alone was enough to cover Andrew¡¯s annual allowance. Wherever Andrew¡¯s gaze landed, it was densely inlaid with fire element magical crystals that emitted a fiery red color. There was a faint burning feeling in the air, precisely because the fire element magical power was condensed to an extreme in this room. ¡®It¡¯s time to break through to an intermediate mage.¡¯ Andrew slowly closed his eyes and started to circulate a mysterious meditation technique. In the next second, a huge amount of fire-element magical power was absorbed into his body. As soon as it entered his sea of consciousness, it fused with his spiritual power, gradually forming a second diamond-like magical structure. This time, he did not need to construct his spiritual structure first. It was such a troublesome step. At the same time, the absorbed fire magic power was still being compressed and shrunk crazily as it merged with his spiritual power. Andrew had absorbed it for dozens of minutes without stopping. Of course, there was a limit to the cultivation time in the magic crystal training room. An ordinary mage would not be able to stay for long, and the absorption of a large amount of magical power would also cause a huge burden. A bright aura of magical power had already formed around Andrew¡¯s body, slowly rotating. The crystals that were originally emitting a blazing light dimmed one after another and even completely turned gray. The turbulence in the room became more and more intense, and a large amount of magical power was absorbed into Andrew¡¯s body. When he had advanced to a beginner mage, he had cultivated at home for almost half a month. A normal place like that would not be able to satisfy Andrew¡¯s thirst for magical power, and the magic crystal training room had coincidentally resolved this concern. After a long while, the magical power aura slowly dissipated. Andrew slowly opened his eyes, and an almost tangible glow of flame flashed past. He couldn¡¯t help but feel doubtful. ¡®The nodes generated this time seem to be completely different from the information I¡¯ve checked.¡¯ In his sea of consciousness, the structure of the two diamonds seemed to have been cast and firmly condensed together. Andrew knew very well that these were two fire element magic nodes, which meant that he had successfully become an intermediate mage. However, just by looking at it with the naked eye, one would think that this was simply an overly large node. ¡®Could it be that this is another benefit of cultivating the diamond spiritual structure?¡¯ Andrew stroked his chin. Previously, when he had just constructed the spiritual structure, he had discovered that the outer shell of the diamond-like object had some synapse-like devices. At first, Andrew had not realized what these things were used for, but now he finally understood. ¡®They can help me create new magic nodes and still condense them together.¡¯ This meant that even among other intermediate mages, Andrew would only use up half of the spiritual power of others, and the speed of his magic would also be twice as fast. This was because other people needed to mobilize the power of two nodes, while Andrew only needed to mobilize one, and the increase in his combat power would reach an incredible level! ¡®If that¡¯s the case, my current strength is probably ranked among the best in the starry skies, other than the fact that I¡¯ve only mastered one type of fire element.¡¯ ¡®However, there¡¯s another problem. When many talented mages on the Blue Planet advance to intermediate mages, they will concurrently cultivate other elements of magic to increase their combat power¡­¡¯ Although Andrew was not worried about the issue of combat power, he had some thoughts of comparing himself to the geniuses in the starry skies. He did not know if he should switch to cultivating other elements of magic now. After pondering for a while, he suddenly burst into laughter. ¡®Although my talent has increased, my lifespan will not increase until I reach the realm of the great mage. Cultivating other types of magic would be far less meaningful to me than increasing my lifespan.¡¯ He pondered. The attitude of the tester from before was enough to explain everything. Previously, due to the limitation of a mage¡¯s lifespan, the older he was, the weaker his strength would be. Andrew was now a hundred times stronger than his peers, but it was only because his talent was too high. If he could solve the lag in his lifespan, his ability would soar again. ¡®In that case, I should focus on one element first.¡¯ He made up his mind, and then looked at the situation around him with a sudden realization. He found that most of the crystal energy had been drained, and only a few of them seemed to have some stock left. Andrew thought about it and made up his mind. ¡®I¡¯d better leave quickly. Although the training room is booked on a day-to-day basis, draining the magic power in one go is something that the Magic Association probably won¡¯t do once in more than ten years.¡¯ ¡®It won¡¯t be good if they blame me.¡¯ With this in mind, he opened the door of the training room and quickly disappeared into the Mage Tower. ¡­ Andrew did not leave the Association directly. He turned around and entered the library again, preparing to find some information about intermediate magic. At this moment, the phone on his waist rang. It was the vice president of the Magic Association, the person who had offered him great benefits. He was in a good mood. He didn¡¯t know yet that the Magic Crystal Room had already been emptied by Andrew. ¡°Mr. Smith? We will soon have a big competition with the Academy in Faerun City. Do you wish to grace the competition¡­¡± ¡°The Academy Competition?¡± Andrew frowned. ¡°Yes, your son, Tim, is one of the leading figures in our Academy. Also, Miss Mary has obtained the qualification to participate in the competition. If you are interested, there is still one seat left on the committee. Do you want me to hold that seat for you?¡± After Lanza said this, Andrew¡¯s interest was aroused. Andrew knew the standard of his son Tim, and with the help of the Star Race, to put it bluntly, this competition was most likely his stage. Thus, after pondering for a moment, he said to the other end of the phone. ¡°Then President Lanza, I¡¯ll have to trouble you. In addition, when the time comes, I might have to disguise myself a little. After all¡­¡± ¡°Okey, I understand. You don¡¯t want your child to know your current identity, right? I¡¯ll arrange it properly,¡± Lanza promised happily. In the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition, it was nominally a competition between students. However, the upper echelons of Rafax City and Faerun City would also fight openly and secretly. ¡®Andrew Smith is already quite formidable at the intermediate mage realm. Moreover, from what he said, he has most likely advanced recently. With his help, he will be able to suppress Faerun City!¡¯ The vice president was so excited in his office that he almost knocked over the teacup in his hand.. Chapter 15 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio After agreeing to attend the Academy Competition, Andrew was in no hurry to leave. He borrowed a book called ¡®Fire Elf Summoning: From The Beginning to Giving Up¡¯ from the bookshelf and then returned home. As soon as Andrew opened the door, he saw Mary and Tim were playing and Topa was floating happily in the air. He looked at them benevolently. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is there any good news?¡± Andrew pretended to be ignorant. Mary ran over excitedly. ¡°My brother told us just now he would definitely get first place in this competition! Look, he¡¯s over the moon!¡± ¡°He said that we should watch it together! How about it? Why don¡¯t we all go? Anyway, we have some money now, so it¡¯s fine to relax a little!¡± Mary¡¯s eyes darted around. It seemed like she was mocking Tim, but in fact, she looked at Andrew with some trepidation, afraid that he would not agree. Andrew could tell that Mary hoped that he could go with them and relax. However, he could not say that he had already received an invitation and would be sitting in the Chairman position. He could only pretend that he did not know. ¡°I still have some things to do when the time comes.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Mary¡¯s expression immediately turned sour. Even though Tim didn¡¯t say anything, he was a little disappointed. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll get good results this time when I participate in the competition. When the time comes, the Academy will give me a scholarship. Then, I¡¯ll be able to help to lessen the family¡¯s financial burden.¡± ¡°Good boy, you worked hard.¡± Andrew felt a little guilty as he glanced at Topa obscurely. ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for this Star Race, perhaps I would have taken action. The people of the Blue Planet might not think too much about the change in my talent, but if the Star Race had noticed it, it might not be the case.¡¯ If Topa had noticed his change and left Tim, then his son might have lost this great help because of him. Andrew decided that since the expenses at home were barely enough, it was better to hide for a while. ¡°When the time comes, you two have fun.¡± He turned around and returned to the study. Only Tim and Mary were left staring at each other, their eyes filled with disappointment. ¡­ ¡°Has the President not returned yet?¡± Andrew sat on the rostrum, feeling a little curious. He had been part of the Association for a while, but he had not seen the President. It was mentioned that he was exploring a secret realm in a foreign land. It was fine at other times, but today was the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition that concerned the reputation of an entire city! Andrew¡¯s current seat was the place with the best view in the Academy competition venue. He had arrived a little late. After all, watching competitions between magic apprentices was meaningless to him. He might as well stay at home and cultivate for a while longer. He had arrived at this time because he guessed that it would be Mary¡¯s turn soon. Beside him, Lanza was very enthusiastic. ¡°Mr. Smith, these are the experts of Faerun City.¡± ¡°This is Mr. Nolan, the advanced mage.¡± ¡°Mensa and Ferrando, intermediate mages.¡± Andrew was a little impatient and nodded casually, while the others looked at him with a provocative gaze. ¡°Boring.¡± Andrew ignored them. In the competition of the magic apprentice level, Mary had already appeared, so he naturally cast his attention over. Standing in front of Mary was a rather rough-looking young man, who politely bowed. The battle between magic apprentices actually didn¡¯t have much value. At most, they could only merge a portion of their magical power into their spiritual structure, so those who had combat power were only able to use the inferior versions of some basic spells. If it wasn¡¯t for his daughter, Andrew wouldn¡¯t even bother to take a look. In the end, Mary didn¡¯t disappoint her father. She was fighting against a wind-type apprentice, whose face was flushed red as she barely managed to throw out a few wind blades that were relatively mediocre in power and speed. Although Mary was a water-type mage who didn¡¯t have much lethality in the early stages, she seemed to be slightly better at infusing her magic power into her spiritual power. She successfully released twice as many water-type missiles as her opponent. After the first batch of magic spells from both parties canceled each other out, the remaining few missiles were enough to beat the person opposite Mary until he scurried off like a frightened rat. In just two minutes, it was obvious who was the winner. ¡°Not bad.¡± Andrew nodded slightly. Following that, he continued to close his eyes to rest. He recalled the intermediate spell that he had been researching for the past two days ¡ª explosive fireball. At the same time, he diverted some of his spiritual power to observe the situation in the outside world. After a series of battles between mages, the sun was finally about to set. Both academies sent out their best students. Tim slowly walked out, and on the other side was a young man wearing an amber-colored robe. ¡°Tim, please show mercy.¡± The young man was verbally humble, but his eyes were very fierce. Tim also spoke straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that. After all, our Academy has already said that the faster we can defeat you, the more scholarships we can get. Our family is so poor that we do not have enough to eat, so I can only be ruthless.¡± As soon as these words were said, the young man in the amber-colored robe could not hold back his temperament. He knew that Tim was a dual element mage, but he was not weak either. Yet Tim implied that beating him was just a piece of cake, which made him furious. After being humiliated in this manner, the young man could not hold it in any longer. He immediately rushed forward. At the same time, he waved both his hands and instantly cast two earth element spells. ¡°Earth spike?¡± ¡°No, it seems like it has already advanced?¡± Andrew sat on the rostrum and looked at him calmly. However, Tim did not move at all. ¡°This¡­Mr. Smith¡­you¡­¡± Lanza was a little nervous. Although he knew that Tim¡¯s strength was respectable, he was also afraid that he would be the first to get complacent and be heavily injured. At that point, it would be hard to say who would win! Just as the two earth spikes converged into a line and rushed towards Tim, the young mage moved. He did not make any big movements but only stretched out his hand, raised it, and condensed a fireball. ¡°Could this be? Casting spells across levels?¡± Andrew seemed to have thought of something. In the next second, the fireball charged straight towards the earth spikes. Surprisingly, there was no counteracting effect. Instead, it directly destroyed the spell! The following flames drowned the young man in the amber-colored robe. He did not have the time to react at all. In the violent explosion, the young man was blown dozens of meters away, unconscious on the ground! Tim said calmly, ¡°I thought you could block at least one fireball.¡± Andrew was shocked by his performance. ¡®It seems that this kid has gained quite a lot from Topa.¡¯ ¡®However, his tone of voice is too arrogant. This time, I was misled by my son.¡¯ Andrew remained expressionless, but he was in a good mood. On the other hand, the vice president Lanza was full of smiles, excitedly holding Andrew¡¯s hand. ¡°Mr. Smith, I really didn¡¯t expect it! Not only are you extremely strong, but your son is also so brilliant. You have an excellent successor!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Andrew nodded calmly, feeling relieved while he looked at Tim who was receiving cheers from his supporters.. Chapter 16 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Lanza chatted with Andrew for a while, then deliberately put on an embarrassed look and taunted the few mages from Faerun City. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the quality of our Academy¡¯s students is indeed not bad this time. The talents that your city has nurtured this year are a bit weak. What a pity.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± The advanced mage, Mr. Nolan, was also the President of the Association of Faerun City. He stood up angrily. On the other side, the two intermediate mages from Faerun City were much calmer. One of them, Mensa, spoke slowly. ¡°According to what I know, this Tim should be a graduate of your Academy. How can he participate in the Academy¡¯s competition this time?¡± Lanza¡¯s smile froze. In a small place like Rafax City, the Magic Academy only provided courses that went all the way to the beginner mage level, and Tim had applied to graduate early because he had to get the Association¡¯s allowance as soon as possible to subsidize his family expenses. The people of Faerun City had already realized this. Before the people on the rostrum could react, Mensa jumped down. Then, he stood in front of Tim and said, ¡°Since you have graduated, and yet you can represent the Academy. You won¡¯t mind competing with me, right?¡± Lanza turned pale with fright. ¡°You guys are crazy!¡± Andrew¡¯s expression was cold as he said, ¡°Shameless.¡± Although he was confident in his son¡¯s strength, it didn¡¯t mean that Tim would be able to defeat this intermediate mage. He was also a little anxious. However, Tim nodded seriously. ¡°Your point is valid!¡± ¡°Come on.¡± He said casually, not taking this so-called intermediate mage seriously. ¡°Good, you have courage!¡± To confirm the results of the competition, Mensa had already charged Tim. Unlike the first time he faced his opponent, who was also a beginner mage, Tim was not as arrogant this time. Instead, he calmly condensed a fireball and a wind blade in each of his hands, ready to face the attack. ¡°You can use two types of magic at the same time, and your energy level far surpasses that of an average beginner mage. You¡¯re indeed a genius! But unfortunately, I can¡¯t let you live!¡± Mensa¡¯s eyes turned cold. Initially, he just wanted to teach Tim a hard lesson, but when he realized Tim¡¯s superb talent and potential, he had the intention to kill. ¡°With such a genius, Faerun City will probably be suppressed for many years to come¡­¡± Mensa conjured an intermediate spell called ¡®water flow avoidance¡¯ in his palm to block Tim¡¯s attack. At the same time, under the cover of the water flow, he took out a magic scroll. This was an advanced intermediate spell. It was the ultimate single-target explosive damage spell in the intermediate mage realm. It was able to kill in one hit! However, Tim did not notice it at all. In the next second, the flames and wind blades collided with the water flow and then canceled out. The explosion that was set off even forced Mensa back a few meters, making him look rather pathetic. The people of Rafax City in the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition venue cheered. At this moment, as if they had received some kind of signal, the few mages from the Faerun City, who were originally sitting on the rostrum, also teleported to the viewing platform belonging to their own Academy. ¡°What are they trying to do?¡± Lanza vaguely felt that something was not right, and an extremely terrifying guess arose in his mind. ¡°Mr. Smith!¡± Before he could finish his words, Andrew had already shouted out in a cold voice. ¡°How dare you!¡± In the next second, in the aftermath of the collision of magic, an extremely sharp spike that emitted an ominous aura grew out of Mensa¡¯s body and charged straight towards Tim¡¯s heart! There was no way to avoid it! Fortunately, Andrew¡¯s spiritual strength far surpassed his peers, so he discovered something was wrong in advance! Tim looked at the black spike. It was about to reach his side, but he still could not react in time. His face was ashen, but in the next second, a palm that flickered with blazing flames suddenly stretched out from the air and grabbed the spike! Then, Andrew squeezed it with all his might! The spell that was originally made of dark elements only lasted for less than half a second before it was crushed! Instantly, the entire venue was shaken! The faces of the people from Faerun City were ashen, while the people from Rafax City were extremely excited! ¡°That was our Association¡¯s Fellow making a move. The sneak attack was taken care of!¡± ¡°Was that a dark element spell just now? But it was destroyed by that Fellow in an instant. I¡¯m afraid that his strength should be at least an advanced mage!¡± Most of the people were only discussing with great interest. The experts present were truly shocked and in disbelief! That was an advanced rare darkness spell. Moreover, it was a skill that focused on single-target bursts. It was extremely fast! Yet, it was destroyed by the mysterious Fellow of Rafax City with a basic and common intermediate spell, ¡®flaming hand¡¯! To be able to do this so easily, it could only mean that the mysterious Fellow¡¯s strength far surpassed that of Mensa, who was using a magic scroll! At this moment, Nolan, who had already left the rostrum, snorted coldly. ¡°It¡¯s not appropriate, Mr. Fellow. In the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition, for an advanced mage like you to strike, isn¡¯t that bullying?¡± The President of the Association in Faerun City retorted first though they were the guilty ones. Andrew¡¯s attitude was very clear. ¡°Get lost!¡± He was in a bad mood. If he hadn¡¯t come to watch the competition, his son might have been killed by a sneak attack. The anger in his heart couldn¡¯t be concealed. On the other side, Lanza opened his mouth to question. ¡°Isn¡¯t your Association¡¯s way of doing things too extreme? In a competition between beginner mages, if you lose, so be it. But you sent an intermediate mage and even used a sneak attack. Now, even your President has stood up. Do you think that our Rafax City is easy to mess with?¡± Nolan said coldly, ¡°Previously, your President was only one step away from becoming a great mage. You also used this opportunity to apply for a lot of benefits at the Association Headquarters. Now that your President has disappeared for so long, it¡¯s time to give us back those resources!¡± ¡°The resources for the winners of the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition are just the beginning!¡± Then, he looked in the direction of Andrew. ¡°Mr. Fellow, you seem to be a little stronger than that trash Lanza.¡± ¡°Do you want to have a match? If none of you can defeat me today, then don¡¯t blame me for killing all these talents of your Academy for the benefit of the Faerun Mage Association!¡± He said with murderous intent. Lanza was so angry that his face turned pale. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any sense of shame? The Fellow has just stepped into the advanced mage realm not long ago, and you have already stayed in this realm for decades. Are you being fair?¡± The vice president¡¯s eyes were burning with anger. Chapter 17 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Alright, let¡¯s fight! I agree.¡± Andrew said calmly. Lanza was more anxious than him. ¡°Fellow, you can¡¯t. His strength¡­¡± Andrew ignored the vice president¡¯s advice. He was slightly interested in the competition. He also wanted to see if his intermediate mage¡¯s strength could defeat an advanced mage. He had to at least reach this standard before he could compete with the geniuses in the starry skies. ¡®Moreover, the people from Faerun City almost injured my son just now.¡¯ A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. At the same time, Andrew¡¯s heart was also filled with doubt. Logically speaking, it made sense that the Faerun Association had used the opportunity of the absence of the President, who was nearly a great mage and had left for so many years, to cause trouble and fight for more resources. But the problem was, why did this happen when he just happened to be a Fellow? ¡®Is it purely a coincidence or something else?¡¯ Andrew pondered. ¡°You agreed? Then come, let¡¯s do it.¡± The advanced mage took the initiative to drive his magic power and floated to the competition grounds. He looked at Mensa and said with an ugly expression, ¡°How embarrassing! Get lost!¡± Meanwhile, Andrew also took the initiative to go to Tim¡¯s side. He didn¡¯t say anything, he only nodded. He wore a long robe that covered his entire body. As long as he didn¡¯t speak, no one would be able to recognize him. Although the latter was a little curious, he also knew that his strength wasn¡¯t enough to get involved in a high-level battle. Therefore, he looked gratefully at this mysterious advanced member of the Mage Association and also turned around to return to the stands. At this moment, after Lanza communicated with the few mages on the rostrum, a huge amount of magical power rose around the stands, forming a protective shield. A battle between mages above the advanced level would often cause great damage. To avoid accidentally injuring these students, a protective shield had to be built. Andrew looked at the opposite side and was not in a hurry to make a move. He was very curious about how mages other than himself usually fought. After waiting for a long time, Nolan finally could not hold it in anymore. He waved his hand and a dozen spells of different colors gushed out. Andrew did not recognize all of them. ¡®Earth spike, rock fragment, ice impact, the eye of the storm, burning wind¡­¡¯ ¡®They are all improved versions of the advanced beginner spells?¡¯ ¡®As expected, even for a higher level mage, the significance of beginner spells is still there. It can accomplish the purpose with less magic power consumption.¡¯ Andrew observed. It was very obvious that when this President had upgraded to the realm of advanced and intermediate mages, he had chosen to cultivate additional elements of magic to increase his fighting strength. As a result, he had the three attributes of Earth, water, and wind. Andrew¡¯s response was simple. He unleashed almost the same amount of fire element magic as the opposite party. This caused the President standing opposite to be shocked. ¡®Raging flame pulse, high-energy flame gathering, small-scale meteor shower, lava impact. What kind of background does this guy have to master and advance these extremely difficult beginner spells?¡¯ Nolan¡¯s heart instantly sank. Generally speaking, the more types of spells a person mastered, the deeper his understanding of that magical element. He felt a little regretful in his heart. It was very likely that this Fellow¡¯s strength was stronger than he had imagined. ¡®Maybe I¡¯ll have to spend a lot of effort to take him down¡­¡¯ Just as he was thinking this, the next second, the scene made his eyeballs drop out of their sockets! His spells were destroyed by Andrew¡¯s spells the moment they touched them! Even after that, those fire spells still had quite a bit of energy left! They charged straight at him! ¡°D*mn it!¡± Nolan had rich battle experience. He activated his magic shield reflexively. Following that, a total of 10 beginner spells smashed into his shield, causing a wave of shock. The President of the Association of Faerun City took a few steps back, he spat out a mouthful of blood before he managed to regain his composure. ¡°F*ck!¡± Nolan saw that Andrew had no intention of stopping and was still accumulating spells. He was also a little helpless. ¡®If I continue to fight, I definitely won¡¯t be able to hold on for long.¡¯ Nolan was helpless. He could only increase the extraction of the magic nodes in his body and fight two intermediate spells in a row. Earthquake level change. Ice spear technique. This was a rather shrewd tactic. The earthquake forced the opponent to jump up and dodge. Then, the ice spear technique could be used against the target that could dodge in the air, unleashing its full power and lethality! Nolan had already shown a triumphant expression. But what happened next almost made him suspect that he had fallen into an illusion! Andrew ignored the impact of the first earthquake. Flames formed under his feet. Under the barrier of this layer of magic power, he was unharmed. This was a special use of the extremely difficult path of flames, which Andrew had learned before. Naturally, the next ice spear technique did not have much of an effect. Andrew just twisted his waist slightly and dodged it! His spiritual power was far superior to his opponent¡¯s. His opponent¡¯s lock-on had no effect at all! ¡°This is impossible!¡± Nolan acted as if he had gone mad as he activated his magic power once again. This time, it was the intermediate ¡®scythe magic storm¡¯. A large number of wind blades in the air surged towards Andrew like a torrent! ¡°How are you going to dodge this time!¡± The President of Faerun City¡¯s Association sneered. Meanwhile, Andrew¡¯s response was to only use the flame pulse from the beginner spell, resulting in the sparks and wind blades canceling out in mid-air. For a moment, the people from the two cities¡¯ Academies were shocked by this scene. The beginner spell directly annihilated the intermediate spell! How powerful was this mysterious Fellow of Rafax City?! ¡°You¡­¡± Nolan¡¯s battle with Andrew had lasted for nearly 10 minutes. He was out of breath as he looked at the figure in the gray robe. The other party was still standing indifferently as if the previous battle did not affect him at all! ¡®How is this possible? This guy¡¯s magical power is a little too strong.¡¯ At this moment, Nolan felt like it was impossible to stop halfway. He did not want to give up the plan he had made for a long time. He simply took advantage of the mysterious Fellow, who did not take the initiative to attack, he began to accumulate advanced magic. As many as ten kinds of runes were quickly constructed in Nolan¡¯s body. Finally, they turned into an ice-blue diagram on his palm. Then, the diagram suddenly disappeared and directly enveloped Andrew and the entire area behind him. On the stands where the students of the Rafax City¡¯s Magic Academy were. ¡°Advanced spell, cholera ice rain!¡± ¡°This is a skill that can cause large-scale damage. Nolan¡¯s intention is not only to defeat Andrew but also to kill our students once and for all!¡± Lanza turned pale with fright. Meanwhile, Andrew only shook his head slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best too.¡± He raised his palm, and it was the blazing sun fireball that had been fused with special runes. Not only that, in a short instant, more than a hundred fireballs appeared in midair! ¡°Go!¡± Andrew activated his magical power, and in an instant, the ice rain created by advanced magic was easily destroyed by the first batch of fireballs! Following that, more than 60 rays of light that were equivalent to the power of an intermediate spell rushed straight towards the stands where the people of Faerun City were! In the next second, a deafening explosion sounded! The protective barrier only lasted for less than half a second before it shattered with a loud bang! Almost before a scream could be heard, countless people were burned into ashes by the flames. Even the entire stands themselves were turned into the flat ground by the tremendous energy. Only a huge pit that emitted high temperatures and an aura of lava was left behind. Even the students of the Academy in Rafax City were all frightened into silence. ¡°Is this a forbidden spell?¡± Someone whispered. Chapter 18 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°It¡¯s not a forbidden spell yet.¡± Soon, some of the powerful-looking mages in the crowd retorted. ¡°Although that Fellow¡¯s spell is very powerful, to put it bluntly, it¡¯s still far from a forbidden spell!¡± ¡°That fireball¡¯s power is only about an intermediate spell, but to be able to create such a large number in an instant, even among advanced mages, is extremely difficult.¡± ¡°Oh my god, when did our Rafax City have such a mighty figure?!¡± The people in the stands were still chatting with lingering fear. Meanwhile, Nolan was already extremely upset! Although Andrew did not kill all the people he had brought with him from Faerun City this time, he had at least taken 70-80% of them out in one wave! ¡®We have suffered huge losses this time!¡¯ Although Nolan was filled with rage, he was completely unable to move in front of the large number of fireballs that Andrew continuously threw out! He could only use all his strength to support the shield. Even so, his magical power was rapidly depleting. He knew very well that in a while, he would definitely die! Thus, he could only shout. ¡°I yield! Sir Fellow, please spare my life.¡± Upon hearing this, Andrew stopped creating fireballs. He was not a bloodthirsty person. The previous wave of attacks that destroyed the entire viewing platform of Faerun City Academy was only because he could not retract his strength for a moment. How could Andrew have thought that the defensive barrier that was said to be able to withstand advanced mages, could not even withstand half a second of his attacks! Seeing that his opponent had already admitted defeat, he also stopped casting spells. He casually stopped and took a few steps back to the viewing platform. ¡°Mr. Fellow, all of us owe you one this time!¡± Lanza was so excited that he almost cried. On the other side, there were only a few mages above intermediate level and less than a dozen apprentices left in Faerun City Academy. Nolan led them in the distance, his face flushed red as if he was giving them a fierce lecture. Following that, this group of people started to cry, it was as if their morale had been utterly crushed. Not long after, they left with a dejected look on their faces. It was obvious that not only did they fail to extract any benefits from Rafax City this time, but they had also suffered heavy losses! It was estimated that they would not be able to recover from this within a few decades. Lanza looked at Andrew. ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯ll go and preside over the proceedings of the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition first.¡± His overly respectful attitude made Andrew not know whether to laugh or cry, so he helplessly waved his hand. ¡°Go! Go!¡± As Andrew said this, he closed his eyes and thought about himself. He had gained a lot from this battle. At first, he had thought that this battle with the advanced mages would most likely be a tough one, but in the end, he had won much more easily than he had imagined! ¡®Perhaps it was also because the opponent had forcefully used wide-range killing spells, which enable me to neutralize the advanced spell so easily with the blazing sun fireball.¡¯ ¡®Although the victory this time was beautiful, I still can¡¯t slack off in improving my strength.¡¯ He silently pondered in his heart and blamed himself for his advantage. The announcement of the final results of the Academy competition and the award ceremony had also begun. Originally, people from the magic associations of the two cities should have taken part, but now, only Lanza from Rafax City was left to host. He was not embarrassed, because, on the other side, almost all the people from Faerun City had died. The only ones who could come up to receive the award were the students from Rafax City. Lanza was beaming as he handed out awards and cultivation resources to the apprentices and beginner mages who had previously obtained a ranking. The lowest was two to three thousand moles, which was not a low price. As a beginner mage, his monthly allowance was only three thousand moles. There were different currencies used by different countries on the Blue Planet. Moles were considered to be a type of currency with a higher value. If one did not purchase anything related to magic, three thousand moles was enough for a family of three to live for a year. Other than monetary rewards, some special crystals contained magic power, similar to those in the magic crystal training room. However, most of them were the lowest grade fire jade, ice jade, and the like. Lanza gave a few words of encouragement to each student. When he finally saw Tim, he couldn¡¯t help but praise him. ¡°Tim, you did a great job for our Academy this time! We can give you three times the scholarship from before!¡± ¡°You use the wind and fire elements, right? After this, we will apply for the secret intermediate spell called ¡®flame vortex¡¯ for you from the headquarters.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tim was also taken aback by this surprise gift. ¡°Of course, for a talented person like you, Rafax City will do our best to nurture you.¡± Although Lanza was trying to curry favor Andrew, there was also a hint of sincerity in his words. This young man, as Andrew¡¯s successor, was likely to be Rafax City¡¯s highest combat strength in the coming decades or even a hundred years! ¡­ Andrew took advantage of the award ceremony to take a short break to recover his magic power. After that, he would be very busy when he returned to the Association. Previously, he had been sitting alone on the rostrum with Lanza, but after he returned, a large group of mages immediately surrounded him. ¡°Mr. Fellow! What exactly is your strength? An advanced mage or a great mage!¡± ¡°That Nolan is no match for you! You¡¯re too strong!¡± ¡°When did you join our Association? I feel that even when the President was around, he wasn¡¯t as impressive as you!¡± ¡°Right! Mr. Fellow, aren¡¯t you also not far away from becoming a great mage?¡± Andrew looked at this group of people who leaned towards him one by one. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. The more they guessed, the more ridiculous it became! ¡®What? Great mage? I haven¡¯t even become an intermediate mage for long!¡¯ As he was thinking, Lanza rushed over from the other side. ¡°Alright! Alright! Alright! Move! Move! Don¡¯t cause trouble for Mr. Smith!¡± He said solemnly. ¡°Mr. Smith, since you¡¯ve become an intermediate mage, it¡¯s time to give this to you. This is an advanced mage medal.¡± He handed over an extremely exquisite piece of handicraft. Three fire diamonds were inlaid beneath the flame-like patterns. The fire diamonds could aid in magic cultivation and be rather expensive. Now, they were only used as decorations, Andrew estimated that the little thing in his hand was probably worth thousands of moles. ¡°Mm, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Andrew casually accepted it. The advanced mage¡¯s allowance was, even more, so he had no reason to refuse. Then, seeing that he was about to leave, Lanza gritted his teeth and chased after him. ¡°That¡­Mr. Smith, our Association doesn¡¯t have many resources. Since you¡¯ve advanced to an advanced mage and as a Fellow, we¡¯ll have to increase your benefits. How about this, in the future, you can use the magic crystal training room as you please! There¡¯s no need for any declaration!¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Lanza felt that he had to rope in Andrew based on the current situation in Rafax City! Hence, he gritted his teeth and determined to rope in Andrew at any cost! Andrew revealed a strange smile upon hearing this. ¡°Remember, you said it yourself.¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Andrew was surprised to find that Mary and Tim were a step behind him when he returned home. They were still on the road. ¡®They¡¯re probably collecting various awards at the school.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He casually sat on the sofa and picked up a newspaper to read. About half an hour later, with the sound of hurried footsteps, Mary excitedly pushed the door open, followed by Tim, who appeared much more composed. ¡°Dad! Did you know? This time, my brother got the first place in the Academy¡¯s Grand Competition!¡± ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t it amazing!¡± ¡°And I¡¯ve also won several matches in a row in the competition of the apprentice realm!¡± Tim, who followed behind, only smiled faintly. ¡°Yeah, now our family¡¯s financial conditions are much better than before. The scholarship this time is worth tens of thousands.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Andrew had a serene expression, which astounded Mary. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re too calm.¡± Andrew was about to say something when there was a knock on the door again. ¡°Who is it?¡± Tim patted his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot we brought our Academy¡¯s teacher here.¡± After saying this, a middle-aged man with a full beard entered the room. He was dressed in a dark green robe. ¡®An intermediate mage?¡¯ Andrew sensed him. ¡°This is my mentor, Mr. Kant.¡± ¡°He is also a mage who cultivates both the wind and fire elements.¡± Tim hurriedly introduced him. The middle-aged man called Kant also walked quickly to Andrew. ¡°Mr. Smith, I feel that your Tim has great potential. It would be a pity to graduate just like this.¡± ¡°I have an acquaintance in the southeast province¡¯s United Academy. I can write a recommendation letter. What do you think? If Tim continues to study here, he won¡¯t be able to maximize his potential.¡± This teacher said quite sincerely, while Andrew only nodded calmly. ¡°Regarding this matter, you can just ask Tim yourself.¡± He said indifferently. Having Topa with Tim, it would be the same whether he joined the United Academy or not. Andrew was too lazy to chat with this teacher. He directly walked into the study and prepared to continue fiddling with his intermediate spells, this made Mary and Tim feel a little awkward. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher. I don¡¯t know why, but recently, my father¡¯s temper has been a little strange.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Since your father said that you can make the decision yourself, then Tim, are you willing to go to the United Academy?¡± The teacher didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he looked at his proud disciple and asked. ¡­ ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Mr. Smith, your magic is fantastic!¡± Andrew wore a robe as he walked into the Association¡¯s library. The mages who saw him all greeted him, their eyes filled with admiration. These people were quite sincere because, in their eyes, this mysterious Fellow was far more diligent than anyone else! Andrew nodded his head in acknowledgment. Then, he went to a smaller secret room in the library, which held research materials for various fire element intermediate spells. Then, he casually pulled out an intermediate spellbook called ¡®Whip of flames¡¯. After flipping through it, he revealed a mysterious smile. ¡®The way this spell is cast is rather interesting.¡¯ Andrew pondered. The flame whip was formed by seven runes, which was a moderate number. They were magic compression, flame release, burning, flame shaping, burn strengthening, armor piercing, and small burst. After casting, it would form a substantial whip that was continuously formed by flames. ¡®It¡¯s no wonder this thing is so unpopular. You can cast a spell from afar, but if you use this flame whip, you¡¯ll have to personally go up and beat people up, not to mention¡­¡¯ After reading the last part of the spell introduction, he was even more speechless. ¡®If you want to maintain this magic, you must constantly outline the flame-shaping runes in your mind. Every time you sketch out a rune, it can extend the duration of the flame whip by two seconds.¡¯ ¡®But it also means that some people who don¡¯t have enough spiritual strength to cast this spell will not be able to divert their attention to cast other spells.¡¯ Andrew¡¯s attitude was very simple. He would not abandon any knowledge. As long as it was an intermediate fire element spell, he was prepared to learn it all. In the past half month, he had almost mastered all the simple spells in the Association¡¯s library. Andrew flipped through the various points to note in this book ¡®Whip of flames¡¯. Then, he simulated meditation in his magic node for about half an hour, when he opened his eyes again, a whip of fire that slithered like a snake slowly appeared in his hand. He was still in the library, so it was not convenient for him to test the power of this spell. What Andrew was curious about was that the flames seemed to have substance. When Andrew touched it himself, it was like he was holding onto a slightly hot rope. Once other things came into contact with it, they would immediately be surrounded and burned by the flames on it. ¡®Interesting.¡¯ After using the fire whip, Andrew finally understood how deceptive this spell was! This was because he had to continuously condense the runes that were shaped by the flames in his mind. At the same time, he had to pour magic power into it to maintain the shape of the flames. After a few seconds, he had already used up several times the magic power of other intermediate level spells. ¡®Eh, what¡¯s going on?¡¯ Andrew was suddenly stunned. As he continued to draw the runes shaped by flames, he noticed that the power of the fire spirits was gradually changing. Previously, Andrew had already been able to use the power of the fire spirit to strengthen his spells. However, this time, the power of the fire spirit did not rush out of the node, but gradually gathered in a certain direction and merged into one. ¡®What happened?¡¯ Andrew was a little puzzled, but he could instinctively feel that as the fire spirit that had been scattered gathered, the quality of the magical power in his body seemed to have increased once again. The fire magic power in his body had already been affected by the uniqueness of his spiritual structure and the essence of the fire spirit a few times. Moreover, he had also cultivated a large number of fire spells, causing the quality to increase explosively, far exceeding that of mages of the same level by more than ten times. Now, it could be upgraded again! ¡®Could it be because of the effect of the special rune of the fire shaping?¡¯ Andrew¡¯s mind spun quickly. He recalled the secret hidden in the rune released by the fire earlier and guessed. He immediately put in all his spiritual power and quickened the speed of sketching the rune of the fire shaping in his mind. As expected, the speed of the gathering of the fire spirit was getting faster and faster. Even after the rate of the gathering had reached more than half, Andrew could feel that the energy of the fire whip in his hand was gradually becoming stronger! ¡®As expected, this is how it is!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s right. If the special rune in the beginner spellbook is the release of flames, then the special rune in the intermediate spell is this flame shaping?¡¯ Andrew recalled quickly.. He was very certain that he had discovered a major mystery regarding magic. Chapter 20 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Andrew¡¯s joy did not last long. Even though his spiritual power was strong enough to allow him to draw a sea of runes shaped by fire endlessly, the gathering of the fire spirit still failed. Almost 90% of the power of the fire spirit that had spread out in the magic nodes in Andrew¡¯s body had already merged into one. It had even gradually formed the child-like appearance that Andrew had seen in his first attempt to steal the fire elemental world, however, there were still some remnants of energy floating in his magic nodes, unable to fuse. ¡®How could this be?¡¯ Andrew was greatly disappointed. He thought for a moment and immediately cast the spell of the flame whip in his hand. Then, he continued to probe his magic nodes. Very quickly, he realized the problem. The body of the fire spirit that had already condensed more than 90% was not pure! ¡®Other than the power of this special life form itself, there is also some ordinary fire elemental power in the nodes. Although that power is extremely pure, compared to the essence of the fire spirit, it¡¯s still not enough.¡¯ ¡®I see.¡¯ Andrew discovered this and also heaved a sigh of relief. He knew very clearly that this was not difficult to solve. He could purify the magic in his body by practicing the magic of the corresponding attribute. Andrew had also roughly guessed the truth. Previously, the intermediate magic he had cast did not lack the special rune of flame shaping. However, at that time, the purity of the magic power in Andrew¡¯s node was too low, so he was unable to awaken the fire spirit. ¡®Next, I can only continue to cultivate the intermediate fire magic. I¡¯m good at this.¡¯ Andrew stopped the crazy drawing of the flame-shaping rune in his mind. The fire spirit that was about to take shape also continued to spread out and merge into the node. ¡®There are still 21 intermediate spells that I haven¡¯t learned, so it should be enough.¡¯ ¡®If it¡¯s not enough, I can try to improve some of the spells that I have already learned.¡¯ Andrew looked at the various information in the library of the Association and calculated in his heart. Then, he took out a few more books from the bookshelf. ¡®Elements Explosion: Fire, High-temperature Incineration, Fire Protection Shield, Red Lotus Flame¡­¡¯ Andrew counted more than a dozen books and brought them all with him. Then, he went to the deserted mountain where he usually cultivated. He seemed to be a little impatient. Andrew had a faint premonition that after successfully gathering the fire spirit, his strength would have another chance to soar! ¡­ In the magic crystal training room, Andrew sat upright on the cushion with a frown on his face. This time, he was not here to extract magic power to increase his cultivation level. Instead, he was purely using this place to increase the speed of his spiritual power recovery to complete the awakening of the fire spirit. After he had learned all the intermediate fire spells in the Association, and also after successfully advancing two of them, a feeling finally arose in his heart that the purity of the magic power in his body should have reached the standard. At this moment, Andrew had already been sitting here for half a day. In his sea of consciousness, he was constantly using the function of the flame to shape runes to fuse the energy of the fire spirit bit by bit. ¡®Fortunately, I¡¯ve come to the magic crystal training room. The number of runes that I have to outline is a little too much.¡¯ Andrew sighed. Even though his spiritual power was far above the level of his peers, he was only barely able to hold on until the last moment under the effect of the magic crystal training room¡¯s recovery power. At this moment, inside Andrew¡¯s magic power node, the fire spirit was only left with the last few traces of energy that had yet to reunite. ¡®Give it to me! Go!¡¯ Andrew¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he burst out with a huge amount of spiritual power. He forcefully pushed the few traces of energy into the fire spirit¡¯s body within his node! ¡°F*ck!¡± In the next second, as he forcefully pushed the energy into his node, it caused quite a bit of damage. Andrew was forced to spit out a mouthful of blood before he managed to catch his breath. However, his eyes were filled with joy, this was because the body of the fire spirit that he had absorbed earlier had finally been re-awakened. After Andrew had completed this last step, his spiritual energy had already spread out and he had also stopped his actions of drawing runes. Meanwhile, the fire spirit was no longer spreading out. Instead, it was jumping happily within the magic energy nodes in Andrew¡¯s body, and it was transmitted towards Andrew for a while, another wave of joy that was akin to that of a baby. ¡®Is he treating me like a father?¡¯ Andrew sensed the spiritual power information transmitted by the fire spirit, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He had initially been worried that after reviving the fire spirit, the other party would be dissatisfied because of his previous actions of capturing it. However, he had not expected that this fire spirit, which had been revived by him, would recognize him as its master from the start! At the same time, Andrew could sense that the rest of the magic power in his node was also gradually changing as the fire spirit moved. The energy was becoming purer and purer. ¡°D*mn!¡± Andrew was stunned. He realized that because the magical power had once again been compressed and removed of impurities, the energy in the node had greatly decreased. It could not even maintain its form. He did not have the time to rejoice that he was fortunately in the magic crystal training room now, instead, he immediately used all his strength to draw out the fire-type energy in the air. This time, it was even more exaggerated than when Andrew advanced to an intermediate mage. In an instant, it formed a seemingly flame vortex! And the magic crystals inlaid on the wall of the Magic Crystal Training Room were all broken! In just a few short seconds, the entire Magic Crystal Training Room was in a mess, and all the magic crystals had turned into dust! If the other members of the Mage Association saw this scene, they would be dumbfounded. This was because the total amount of magic power contained in a magic crystal training room was theoretically close to that of a great mage! How could it be sucked dry by someone?! The last time Andrew cultivated, Lanza had determined that there was a malfunction in the magic crystal training room, so he did not blame him. However, that time, he had only used up one-third of the magic crystal training room¡¯s reserves! On the surface, the crystal stones had been sucked dry, but there was still some remaining in the substance. However, now, they had been completely sucked dry by Andrew. All the magic crystal stones had been turned into useless powder! After this, Andrew let out a long sigh. ¡®I barely managed to keep the node from collapsing, but the magical power is still not full. I guess my advancement to advanced mage will be slowed down again.¡¯ Although he said that, he was in a very good mood. Just now, after he had created the fire spirit, he was once again pulled into the fire elemental world. He observed it from the perspective of the origin and learned an arcane-level rune. ¡®Molten heart.¡¯ Andrew nodded. ¡®So I was wrong in the beginning. Although learning this kind of arcane-level rune requires a high amount of spiritual power, it is essentially a gift from the fire elemental world to mages.¡¯ ¡®Previously, I was gifted one when I absorbed the fire spirit. This time, it¡¯s as a reward for me to revive the fire spirit. Then, I guess arcane-level spells are rarer than I thought.¡¯ Andrew pondered. Previously, other than incorporating the second-rate fireball spell into the arcane-level rune, he had been focusing his research on the beginner fireball spell (an upgraded version of the former), which had begun to show some signs of success. And this time, when he learned about the molten heart, he instinctively sensed what the most suitable spell for this rune was! Andrew closed his eyes and meditated for about half a day. Then, he opened his palm and a strange flame slowly rose.. When the flame rose, even the surrounding space seemed to be distorted by the flames. Chapter 21 Andrew maintained the flame in his palm for a while before slowly withdrawing it. After fusing it with the molten heart, the red lotus flame couldn¡¯t be activated by the power of the outside world. It could only be released when it was in coordination with the fire spirit in his body, therefore, it could not be released for too long. After Andrew had fused an arcane rune into this spell, it should be considered a new type of spell. ¡®I¡¯ll just call it red lotus flare.¡¯ Andrew gave it a new name. He could sense that the power contained in the arcane rune of the molten heart seemed to simulate the energy fluctuations within stars. He closed his eyes and meditated for a while. ¡®After awakening, the fire spirit, the space occupied by this little guy in the magic node will become limited.¡¯ Andrew sensed the cheerful mood of the fire spirit. ¡®Perhaps before advancing to an advanced mage, I can continue to head to the fire element world to absorb a few fire spirits.¡¯ ¡®I reckon I can sustain this newly developed arcane level spell for a longer period.¡¯ Andrew pondered silently and quickly decided on a training plan for the next period. Other than accumulating magic power, the most important thing was to try his best to fuse the fire spirit that he had awakened. He could faintly feel that¡­ no, he estimated that every time he integrated, the quality of his magic power would increase by another time. By then, he could completely increase his combat strength by several times without advancing! Andrew cleared his thoughts and got up from the cushion. He stretched his back and looked at the magic crystal that was almost scrapped for training, revealing a hint of awkwardness. ¡°Well, it seems that I need to make some contribution to the Association.¡± He muttered to himself and left in a hurry. ¡­ In the next few days, Andrew fulfilled his duty as a Fellow of the Association, giving guidance to some beginner and intermediate mages. And the effect was a little too good to be true. Andrew didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, especially with those fire mages. In the beginning, they were hesitant about Andrew¡¯s guidance, but in the end, they simply respected him as a god. They discovered that this Fellow¡¯s understanding of magic was unfathomable! No matter how tricky the question was, no matter how unpopular the mage was, Andrew still had some insights! Andrew, as a part-timer, was even more erudite than those legendary great mage-level figures! ¡°Mr. Smith, regarding the optimization of the fireball book, I still have a few questions!¡± ¡°I would like to ask, Mr. Smith, your application of the variation of the burning runes is too imaginative. This result can be reported to the association headquarters!¡± ¡°Mr. Smith, what is the difference between the nature of the runes used by intermediate mages and those used by beginner mages?¡± ¡°Wait, don¡¯t push. I was the one who asked first!¡± ¡°What are you guys doing! If you are going to fight, you¡¯ll make Mr. Smith unhappy. No one will be able to learn!¡± Andrew sat in a living room of the Mage Association and looked at the group of beginner and intermediate mages. They were arguing over his guidance and he felt a little helpless. At this moment, suddenly, someone¡¯s phone rang. Then, as if it was contagious, people¡¯s phones rang again and again. Finally, even Andrew¡¯s phone rang, and an urgent voice came through. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Andrew took the phone and heard Lanza¡¯s anxious voice. ¡°Mr. Smith, an intermediate magical beast, the Cyclops, has appeared outside the city! Outside the city, the beast tide in the Furlong Mountain Range is also showing signs of a riot! We can¡¯t hold on much longer here. Quickly bring some people over to help.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll bring some people over immediately.¡± Andrew hung up the phone in silence. His expression did not look good. ¡®A beast tide riot?¡¯ ¡®The Cyclops still exists?¡¯ ¡®This is not good.¡¯ Andrew¡¯s mood was a little depressed. Magical beasts had already taken root on the Blue Planet in the past tens of thousands of years. However, magical beasts from ancient times were completely different from modern magical beasts. The magical beasts themselves were soaked in a large number of magical elements, which resulted in their crystal cores, fur, and flesh having extremely high cultivation values. The result was that when the mage civilization of the Blue Planet reached a certain level of prestige, along with the explosion of the population and the number of mages, terrifying extermination was adopted against the magical beasts! The mages crazily plundered the materials on these creatures, resulting in two consequences. One was that in the current era, the strength of any magical beast was at least several times that of a mage of the same level because the weaker ones had long been exterminated! Their strength was purely determined by the upper limit of the level of magic they could use! And the other result was that magical beasts had a great hatred towards humans! Some powerful magical beasts would think of ways to gather their kind after they had a certain level of strength and charge towards the city. For them, devouring mages was also a good method of cultivation! Once the beast tide occurred, both sides would not rest until one side was dead! Either the city would be destroyed or all the magical beasts would be exterminated! Andrew looked uncertain. His current strength was not weak; when facing an extremely large number of magical beasts, it might not be a problem for him to protect himself. However, what about Tim and Mary? After temporarily suppressing his emotions, he spoke to the group of mages who had followed him. ¡°The association has discovered a beast tide outside the city. There¡¯s already a Cyclops not far from Rafax City.¡± ¡°All intermediate mages and above, follow me!¡± As soon as Andrew finished speaking, the entire room immediately turned into an uproar. Many mages had come to receive guidance. Even if they were not fire-type mages, there were still quite a number who were willing to listen to Andrew¡¯s opinion. Therefore, this place was almost the entire core strength of the Mage Association. However, these people who usually held extraordinary positions in the city were all shocked! ¡°How could a beast tide appear in a remote city like ours!¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s going on? Can Rafax City be defended?¡± ¡°If the beast tide is stronger, we should abandon the city and flee!¡± The group of mages seemed to be a little afraid. On the contrary, Andrew sat calmly on his seat and did not say a word. Just the Cyclops alone was not enough to break the morale of these people. They nodded at Andrew with some hesitation. ¡°Mr. Fellow, let us go with you to support.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Andrew did not care about the loss of composure of these mages. He was worried about the safety of his children. Seeing that the mysterious Fellow had spoken, the group of mages from the Mage Association quickly sorted out the magic scrolls and various casting resources. They directly used the airship within the Association to rush to the rescue. ¡­ Half an hour later, the airship slowly landed on top of a small hill. Andrew and the group of mages used magic power as a cushion and jumped down. Following that, they saw a three-meter tall humanoid monster appearing in front of them. Its entire body was grayish-white in color, there was only one huge eye on its forehead, and a strong horn. It was the Cyclops. It was roaring at the sky! Its body was only covered in flowing lightning-like elements. With just a slight movement, it caused the surrounding ground and the mountains to shake, and the sand and stones nearby to shatter.. Chapter 22 ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Beside him, Lanza together with a few beginner and intermediate mages had been frantically running away. They knew that even if they worked together, they would not be able to deal with the Cyclops, so they had been leading the monster in circles outside the city. ¡®Although these people seem cowardly, they still do their jobs.¡¯ Andrew frowned and said, ¡°The Cyclops is only an intermediate magic beast. You should attack it, not just run.¡± The sparse group of about 10 intermediate mages did not hesitate and immediately rushed forward. With Andrew, the strongest advanced mage, guarding the rear, they felt they were safe. Seeing that there was support, Lanza immediately shouted. ¡°All beginner mages, retreat to Mr. Smith¡¯s side. Everyone else, follow me and fight back!¡± As he spoke, he immediately gathered a dozen fireballs in his palm and shot them at the back of these mages to block the Cyclops¡¯ advance and buy time for everyone to cast their spells. The intermediate mages who were quickly following behind also used all their skills. Other than the common wind blades and fireballs, there were also spells such as ice spears. There were even a few mages in Rafax City who were proficient in the darkness attribute unleashing the sting of shadow that had almost killed Tim. In an instant, the mages worked together and released nearly a hundred magic attacks! They charged towards the Cyclops. Andrew, on the other hand, was frowning. ¡®No wonder those mages who are more senior than me still want to ask me for advice.¡¯ ¡®As expected, ordinary mages and I have completely different ideas. They only need to master a few commonly used spells to think of ways to advance.¡¯ ¡®Only people like Nolan who have no hope of advancing would want to learn more spells.¡¯ ¡®No wonder the quality of their magic power is so poor.¡¯ He pondered, not panicking at all. On the other side, the Cyclops was in trouble. At first, he was hit by Lanza¡¯s continuous fireballs and staggered back a few steps. Then, he was washed away by an almost endless torrent of spells and continued to stumble for a long time before he regained his composure. ¡°Good, it really works! Maybe Mr. Smith doesn¡¯t have to make a move!¡± Lanza was overjoyed, but the next second, the scene made him dumbfounded. After the Cyclops was pushed back, he roared angrily. His gray-white skin was wrapped in a layer of dark light. Then, the spell effects of mages were greatly weakened by the dark light. The Cyclops withstood the bombardment of the spell and walked forward. Soon, it arrived in front of Lanza, who was standing at the front. ¡°Oh my God, we can¡¯t stop it! If we don¡¯t retreat, we¡¯re dead!¡± A young female mage behind Lanza shouted anxiously. Her pretty face was twisted with nervousness. ¡°Retreat from its attack range first!¡± Lanza could only shout helplessly, the Cyclops¡¯ oppressiveness was so strong that he felt like he was about to choke. The group of mages continued to fire as they retreated. However, they realized that the Cyclops did not attack. ¡°No! No!¡± Lanza shouted, but the sound of the spell explosion drowned out his cries! A strange blue light flashed in the Cyclops¡¯ huge eye. This was the magical beast¡¯s native spell, petrifying eye! ¡°Don¡¯t look at his eye!¡± Andrew had been in the library for nearly two months, so he knew a bit of all sort of knowledge. He immediately reminded everyone, but unfortunately, he was a step too late! Only a few intermediate mages standing at the back reacted and immediately turned to run, avoiding the disaster. In front of them, Lanza, the vice president, and a few intermediate mages had already turned into stone statues! After the Cyclops finished casting his spell, he was still in high spirits, as if he had not used up any energy. The monster raised its arm, stretched forward, and hammered it down hard! It was very obvious that this smash would cause the mages who were temporarily unable to break free from the petrified state to die! When Andrew saw this, he could only sigh slightly. ¡®If I don¡¯t make a move now, I¡¯ll probably suffer heavy casualties.¡¯ He dashed forward, but in fact, he had cast two fireballs under his feet and used the special characteristics of the trail of flames spell to isolate the heat. With the boost from the explosion, he flew to the front of the Cyclops! ¡°Mr. Smith! No!¡± The fleeing intermediate mages shouted anxiously. They felt that Andrew was overconfident this time! Even if it was to save them, he should not have taken such a risk! The mages¡¯ physical defense was not strong. If they were to be hit head-on by the Cyclops, they would definitely die! ¡°No¡­¡± These mages could only watch helplessly. Andrew¡¯s body was gradually getting closer and closer to the Cyclops¡¯ heavy fist. He even closed his eyes a little unwillingly. In the next second, there was a loud bang and a powerful shockwave, it sent the escaping mages and the group of stone statues that had been petrified flying. Flame explosion. Andrew picked a spell that was not very powerful but was quite suitable for the current situation. While blocking the Cyclops¡¯ hammer, he also managed to save the petrified mages. Of course, although the quality of his magical power was high, it was not to the extent that he could force back the Cyclops¡¯ hammer with just a spell. In the short span of a few seconds, Andrew forcefully cast the intermediate spell ¡®flame explosion¡¯ more than ten times! The effect was also significant. The anti-magic dark light on the Cyclops was instantly broken, and then it was heavily injured by the huge explosion! The three-meter-tall monster, which weighed more than 100 tons, was blown into the sky. It flew for dozens of meters before it heavily fell to the ground! The Cyclops had a huge wound on his right arm from the explosion. Fresh blood dripped from it, and the other parts of his body were also charred black. He looked quite miserable. ¡°I¡¯m still alive.¡± Lanza said after surviving the disaster. He was slightly stronger, so he was the first person to break free from the petrification effect after being blown away. The next second, he looked forward with some confusion, because what happened made him feel that it was simply unbelievable! After the Cyclops used a protective spell as a special skin, he used his full strength to strike again. It was blocked by Mr. Smith! Moreover, in this collision, it was Mr. Smith who defeated the Cyclops head-on! At this moment, Andrew also looked back calmly. ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± Under his gaze, most of the intermediate mages had already relied on their magic power to resist the petrification effect. They stood up again, and all of them revealed expressions of gratitude. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you this time. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid we would all be wiped out¡­¡± ¡°Mm, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re alright.¡± Andrew nodded calmly, then looked at the Cyclops that was howling furiously. The latter stood up and fell into a frenzy. A blue light once again appeared in his eyes, different from the large-scale petrification light he had released previously. This time, it was purely aimed at Andrew alone! ¡°Mr. Smith, be careful!¡± A mage who had been saved earlier hurriedly shouted. However, Andrew just stood there calmly and did not move at all.. Chapter 23 Andrew watched calmly as the Cyclops accumulated his innate magic. He sneered inwardly. ¡®Do you think I will allow you to outline runes?¡¯ The time needed for the magical beast¡¯s innate magic to be cast was extremely short, but Andrew¡¯s spell casting is faster! In a flash, he unleashed a dozen blazing sun fireballs that quickly rushed towards the Cyclops¡¯ eye and caused a huge explosion. The blazing sun fireballs were extremely high-level spells in the intermediate mage realm. The Cyclops even gave up his protection to cast the spell. With one careless move, his eyeball was severely injured! Much of the crystalline eye¡¯s structure was charred black, exploding into pieces and hurtling through the air. The magical beast also held its forehead and wailed in pain. Even so, the Cyclops still did not change its ferocious nature. He rushed towards Andrew as if he wanted to tear this little bug that had hurt him into pieces! However, for Andrew, the second or two it took for the Cyclops to cover his eye and howl in pain was enough for him to unleash his next spell. ¡®Flame release, high-energy shaped fireball, red lotus fire.¡¯ Andrew unleashed three more intermediate spells and they flew quickly towards the Cyclops. The Cyclops had managed to survive, and had even gone berserk! Even though his body was badly scorched by the flames and smelled burnt, the Cyclops was still managing to charge viciously at Andrew. However, what he was facing was an extremely tough whip made of flames! The whip of flames was a spell that even Andrew felt was of little value. An ordinary mage using this spell when they were unable to multitask was purely to cause trouble for themselves. However, Andrew had the blessing of hundredfold talent, so it could be of some use under special circumstances. At this moment, the Cyclops¡¯ old strength was gone, and his new strength had yet to be born. Andrew easily whipped the monster that was a head taller than him to the ground! ¡®So that¡¯s it.¡¯ Andrew laughed coldly. As he gathered his fire magic, he wildly swung the whip in his hand. At first, the Cyclops was still howling crazily as he charged forward. However, after taking a few rounds of blows, he was only covered in wounds, his skin and flesh split open, and his white bones were exposed. After a short stalemate, Andrew was still as calm as ever. However, this monster revealed a somewhat terrified wail, and its movements became hesitant. When the mages at the side saw this scene, they were all dumbfounded. ¡°This is too exaggerated!¡± Lanza gulped. Previously, when he fought with Nolan, he knew that Andrew was a powerhouse among advanced mages. Although the Cyclops was judged as an intermediate magical beast, it was so physically fit that some ordinary advanced mages would rather pay the price to get rid of it than fight it. However, this powerful Fellow was able to suppress the Cyclops easily. Moreover, he was using the less powerful and rarely used whip of flame! ¡°It doesn¡¯t even count as his full strength.¡± ¡°With Mr. Smith¡¯s strength, I¡¯m afraid that in the few nearby cities, no mage can be considered his match.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I feel that even if I were to become an advanced mage one day, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him! Such strength is too exaggerated!¡± Lanza¡¯s face was filled with shock as he struggled to speak. ¡°No matter what, our crisis this time has been temporarily resolved.¡± ¡°Although the beast tide is gathering, our group can bring this information back to the city. We¡¯ll have some time to prepare.¡± The group of mages discussed, preparing to wait for Andrew¡¯s return. Although many parts of the Cyclops could be used to create various magical equipment, they did not feel that Fellow Andrew could kill it. This was because the skin of this magical beast was very thick, and it was impossible to stop it if it wanted to escape. The situation was indeed like this. After Cyclops was beaten to tears by Andrew, he had the intention of running away. Magical beasts also had a certain level of intelligence. They would not risk their lives when they knew that they had no chance of winning. The Cyclops roared angrily as a mass of lightning energy surfaced from his body. ¡®Is he planning to use his greatest spell?¡¯ With a thought, Andrew instantly sent out dozens of blazing sun fireballs. However, what surprised him was that after the lightning energy flowed through his entire body, the magical beast directly used the effect of this spell to sprint towards the back! He was going to escape! Although Andrew wanted to intercept it, the distance at this moment was indeed a little far, beyond the reach of the whip! ¡®Then I have to try this spell!¡¯ Andrew narrowed his eyes slightly. With a flip of his palm, an extremely pure flame appeared. Then, with a flick of his finger, this wisp of flame followed the fireballs and rushed towards the Cyclops. Although the latter had sensed the attack from behind, however, he still did not dodge. In the eyes of this magical beast, this move was not enough to kill him. It was indeed so. The fireballs only counteracted the lightning on his body and did not cause any damage. However, when the small flame reached his body, the Cyclops seemed to feel that his life was in danger. He cried out loudly. In the next second, the flame rapidly expanded. It turned from a small flame into a monstrous flame and swallowed the entire body of the Cyclops. What was even more ridiculous was that the Cyclops had already fallen to the ground less than three seconds after the flame rose! ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Under the watchful eyes of the mages, the skin and flesh of the magical beast had simply evaporated, leaving only a few bones that slowly withered and disintegrated under the burning flames. In the end, the entire Cyclops was burned into ashes! ¡°Advanced magic? No, it¡¯s more than that!¡± The mages from Rafax City were all dumbstruck. Lanza was mumbling in a trembling voice. ¡°Could it be¡­Arcane magic?¡± They felt like their minds were about to collapse. The Cyclops, who had been chasing them for quite some time and was known for tenacious vitality and high defense, was killed by this Fellow in one move! And all that was left was a pile of ashes! The difference in strength was too great! Killing a magical beast and burning it to ashes were two completely different concepts! It was a clean crush! Only now did the mages realize that their previous guess that Andrew was an advanced mage might have been a little too conservative! This was because based on the battle just now, no one could say clearly what the true limits of this Fellow¡¯s strength were! At this moment, Andrew slowly returned to the middle of the team and looked at the crowd casually. ¡°It¡¯s already settled.¡± The moment he opened his mouth, everyone immediately bowed respectfully to him. ¡°Mr. Smith, it¡¯s all thanks to you this time.¡± The people who had previously been extremely warm towards Andrew were now more reserved. If an advanced mage were still the target they were looking up to, their attitude towards Andrew would be nothing more than respect for a stronger elder, but now they felt differently. ¡°This Fellow¡¯s strength is simply unfathomable!¡± ¡°Even if I break through, I am probably no different from an ant in front of him!¡± The mages looked at Andrew with trepidation.. No one dared to show the slightest disrespect! Chapter 24 After noting the attitude of these colleagues from the Mages¡¯ Association, Andrew felt a little awkward. He was in no mood to chat with these people, partly because he had some regrets. To test his spell, he had burned the valuable Cyclops to worthless ashes. ¡®A lot of rare materials have been wasted.¡¯ He sighed in his heart. When the other mages in the Association saw that Andrew was silent, they naturally did not dare to disturb him. So the group, though victorious, boarded the dirigible back to the city in a rather somber atmosphere. On the way, Andrew occupied a small room on the airship and began to analyze the specific effects of the red lotus flare that he had released earlier. Meanwhile, the other mages were gathered around the vice president Lanza, discussing another matter with serious expressions. ¡°Currently, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything in our Rafax City¡¯s Magic Association that can attract Mr. Smith,¡± Lanza said with a frown and some distress. ¡°Currently, all the resources that can be used have already been made available. Whether it¡¯s the magic crystal training room or the library, Mr. Smith can mobilize all the resources in the entire Magic Association, but it¡¯s still not enough!¡± He had a slight headache. ¡°Don¡¯t spread the news that the Cyclops was easily destroyed, or else other cities will come and poach him.¡± A young mage suggested and everyone present nodded. However, no one believed that this method was effective. The reason was simple. The mages present did not agree and the news could not be hidden for long. ¡°How many years has it been since our Rafax city has produced such a person?¡± A middle-aged man frowned. The scene of Andrew easily killing the Cyclops made him certain that a small place like Rafax city would not be able to keep this Fellow! At this moment, Lanza suddenly gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh, and stood up abruptly. ¡°Alright, everyone, stop talking. Our Rafax City indeed can¡¯t keep Fellow Smith for long. With his strength, he will go to a bigger stage. He might even have a seat in the entire Mage Council of the Moore Republic.¡± ¡°We can forget about keeping him here forever. As long as we can leave a good impression on him and remember our friendship, that will be good.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to report to the Association Headquarters immediately and use the only Honorary President¡¯s position in Rafax City.¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Immediately, a mage who looked quite old tried to stop him. ¡°Vice president Lanza, you have to think twice.¡± As he spoke, his voice became softer and softer. Lanza nodded calmly. ¡°The Honorary President will receive the same treatment as the President. Fellow Smith will be allowed to browse through our Association¡¯s private magic book collection. This is the only reward we can give that person.¡± All the mages present had different expressions, but no one objected. ¡­ ¡°Honorary President?¡± Andrew had originally planned to return home after returning to the Association. He felt guilty because he had drained the magic crystal training room dry, so after he finished cultivating his magic every day, he would give pointers to others in the Association. But other than that, he couldn¡¯t find any work that needed to be done by him. Lanza¡¯s suggestion had piqued his interest. ¡°I can freely allocate the various resources of the Association, as well as assign missions. Is it equivalent to having the President¡¯s authority?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Moreover, with your efficiency, you should have read most of the magic books in the Association. This magic book collection that only the President can access might be of some use to you.¡± Lanza continued to persuade him. Although the conditions he offered were very generous, he still acted as if he was afraid that Andrew would not agree. In his opinion, a powerful mage with such strength and a mature age would have terrifying experience and knowledge, he might not be interested in his meager wealth in Rafax City. Andrew himself was a little surprised. ¡®Everything is going so well as if God is helping me.¡¯ Previously, he had already finished learning the intermediate fire magic and was even forced to advance two spells before he could complete the awakening of the fire spirit. However, Andrew could faintly sense that, as an intermediate mage, he had yet to reach the limit of refining his magic power. ¡®If I can get access to this magic book collection, I should be able to refine quite a bit of my magic power.¡¯ ¡°Alright, I agree.¡± Andrew nodded, which surprised Lanza. ¡°That¡¯s good, I¡¯ll give you the right to enter the magic book collection directly. Previously, we¡¯ve already informed the Association Headquarters, and they¡¯ll soon be able to issue an official appointment. In addition, becoming the Honorary President is also considered a big matter. We need to announce it publicly in the City.¡± Lanza rattled on about a bunch of things to take note of. Andrew only made a gesture to him to stop. ¡°Can I get access to the magic book collection now?¡± He seemed to be a little impatient. Lanza was stunned for a moment but immediately replied, ¡°No problem, no problem.¡± He was not surprised. After all, Andrew had given him the impression that he was obsessed with magic cultivation. Therefore, Lanza was just glad that his efforts to rope him in had worked, he excitedly led Andrew to the Mage Tower in the center of the Association. This time, they did not go up. Lanza walked to a place that was similar to an underground entrance and inlaid a medal on it. ¡°As the President has gone to explore the secret realm on his own, this medal that opens the magic book collection is temporarily in my custody. I¡¯ll hand it over to you later.¡± Lanza respectfully handed over the medal in his hand. ¡°Okay.¡± Andrew took it and discovered that this medal was made of some special ore, with the image of a giant tree engraved on it. ¡°I won¡¯t go in,¡± Lanza said respectfully. Andrew nodded and entered the basement where the Association¡¯s magic book collection was located. He did a large amount of reading. There were not many books in the collection, only about 10 bookshelves. However, what surprised Andrew was that he had indeed discovered a lot of intermediate magic that he had not learned yet. What was even more surprising was, after Andrew casually grabbed a few intermediate and advanced magic books in his hands, he discovered a book with a thick cover on the back row of bookshelves. It was a book called ¡®A Brief Introduction to The Cultivation of The Great Mage And The Arcane¡¯. Andrew walked over and thought for a moment but did not take out the book. ¡®Forget it. Based on the current situation, even if I know some knowledge about the arcane, with the quality of my magic power and my understanding of fire spells, it is still not enough to support my cultivation. I should study these intermediate and advanced magic first..¡¯ Chapter 25 Andrew held a book in his hands as he hurriedly entered the Association¡¯s Headquarters. On the way, the mages all looked at him with extremely respectful gazes. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯ve come again today.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Andrew nodded casually. After a short exchange of pleasantries, he took out the medal that Lanza had given him and used his authority as the Honorary President to enter the magic book collection. He could not wait to sit down, he flipped open the manual on how to cultivate arcane in the realm of a great mage. In a way, Andrew was lucky. The President was not far from a breakthrough, which was why the Rafax City was able to keep books on the cultivation of arcane in its collection. He had gone off to explore the secret realm at this point, so Andrew had the opportunity to learn about them. Otherwise, Andrew could only benefit from the records and insights of these advanced magical books and would only have access to that more advanced knowledge when he was promoted to the headquarters. ¡®Is organizing the elements crucial?¡¯ Andrew instantly flipped through the book in his hand, he was able to understand the premise of arcane cultivation very quickly. ¡®Compared to ordinary magic, which mainly relies on spiritual power to outline runes, the magic power in the internal nodes of the body only serves as a transit station to communicate with the outside world.¡¯ ¡®The arcane in the great mage realm requires the use of spiritual power to draw runes at the same time, allowing one¡¯s magic power to operate in a certain special way.¡¯ ¡®Only by doing this can one have the ability to cultivate the arcane.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not right. Why didn¡¯t this book mention the problem with the fire spirit?¡¯ Andrew discovered a blind spot. After flipping through the book in his hand, he roughly understood why his blazing sun fireball and red lotus flare were so powerful. It was because these two spells had been fused with the arcane runes, so it was able to better mobilize the power of the fire spirit in his body, and the nodes had already completed a certain special operation of the fire elements. This was very similar to what this book said. ¡®Arcane level spells and arcane are not the same, but it can effectively allow a mage to familiarize himself with the ability to mobilize arcane spells earlier?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m in luck.¡¯ Andrew mused. Then, he felt that something was wrong. The special nature of fire spirit elemental beings benefited Andrew greatly, however, this mage book on arcane did not contain any knowledge related to elemental beings. ¡®Unless¡­the difficulty of entering the fire elemental world is higher than I imagined. Ordinary great mages are unable to come into contact with related knowledge.¡¯ Andrew found this speculation a little too wild, but with his hundredfold talent, it was still possible. ¡®Forget it, there are no great mages in the entire Rafax City. My wild guess won¡¯t be of much use. Perhaps the person who wrote this book simply wanted to hide the information about the elemental beings like the fire spirit. Who knows?¡¯ Andrew quickly dismissed the distracting thoughts in his mind. He had a good idea. Previously, he had developed two arcane level spells. To a certain extent, he could make the magic power in the node move and circulate in a special rhythm. Thus, Andrew immediately turned to the second half of the book, which described specific measures to cultivate the arcane. ¡­ ¡°The essence of the arcane is the comprehension and application of the fundamental magical laws.¡± This was the sentence that left the deepest impression on Andrew after flipping through the entire book. So that was how it was. A flash of understanding appeared in his eyes. ¡®The essence of the arcane is something that is a level higher than magic. If it is an ordinary spell, I would just need to mobilize the elements.¡¯ ¡®And the use of the arcane is to allow the elements to resonate in a certain way and evolve.¡¯ ¡®Thus, a mage must first transform the specific elements in his body, and then use his spiritual power to outline runes to expand his influence, spreading the evolution of the elements to the outside world.¡¯ ¡®Generating the law and applying it to spells is the only way to complete the arcane.¡¯ ¡®According to the contents of the book, for an ordinary mage to advance to a great mage, he must comprehend the most basic law among the attributes that he is already cultivating. For example, the most basic law of the fire is burning.¡¯ ¡®After activating this law, any fire spell with an additional arcane will have an extremely high temperature and an extremely strong burning ability. Even some conceptual products such as magic power and spells can burn and destroy things alive!¡¯ ¡®And the basic law of the earth element is gravity, the water element is waves and the wind element is the movement of air currents¡­¡¯ Andrew revealed a look of relief. If one needed to master an arcane to advance to a great mage, then focusing on one element would be the most correct way of thinking. ¡®However, other than burning, I can learn some other laws.¡¯ Andrew was deep in thought. A moment ago, he had read some of the stories and legends mentioned by the author. One of them had piqued his interest. The book mentioned that some lucky mages could enter a specific elemental world and obtain arcane runes. ¡®Arcane runes can strengthen spells, but it¡¯s only the most insignificant effect. More importantly, these arcane runes often contain some special elemental laws. If I can comprehend their combat strength, it will far surpass that of an ordinary mage!¡¯ Andrew read out the original text of the book, feeling a little excited. At this time, he could tell that his control of entering the elemental world was something an ordinary mage could not imitate! At the same time, he was pleasantly surprised. If he cultivated the law from the two arcane runes he had already obtained, his combat strength would surpass that of an ordinary great mage by quite a bit! At this moment, Andrew was not aiming too high. He was still prepared to try out the operation of the basic burning law. The book he was reading recorded the cultivation method of this basic law. ¡®Will the magic power in the nodes of my body move rhythmically at a specific frequency?¡¯ Andrew sank his consciousness into the nodes. He repeatedly used his spiritual power to fiddle with the magic power in the nodes. As he persevered, very soon, traces of fire elements gradually became active, flickering continuously according to a specific frequency. ¡®There is indeed a chance.¡¯ Andrew continued to do so but was surprised to find that he could only affect less than a third of the nodes with his magic. No matter how hard he clenched his teeth and urged his spiritual power, it was useless. Andrew soon discovered the reason. ¡®It¡¯s you?¡¯ It was the fire spirit that he had already subdued. It sent a somewhat confused spiritual signal to Andrew. After much difficulty, he finally understood. Andrew didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡®So it turns out that this fire spirit has no way of understanding such a complicated operation. I can activate the magic power in my body, but I can¡¯t use the higher-grade power formed by this fire spirit.¡¯ He felt helpless, but he wasn¡¯t discouraged. Andrew long had an idea for the cultivation of the fire spirit, which was to cultivate more fire spells and advance more spells to gain enlightenment, this special enlightenment could strengthen the fire spirit in his body. It was only a matter of time before his plight was resolved.. Chapter 26 ¡®Unfortunately, the only problem is that I¡¯ve learned all the intermediate spells.¡¯ Andrew was a little helpless. He felt that this was very normal. After all, it was a necessary arcane for the great mage¡¯s realm. For him to be able to start learning it with the strength of an intermediate mage was already an impressive feat. ¡®Since that¡¯s the case, the current plan is to temporarily upgrade the intermediate spells at hand. After experimenting with the application of the two arcane runes, I¡¯ll probably be able to gain a lot of insight.¡¯ ¡®Cultivating the arcane can¡¯t be rushed.¡¯ ¡®I can slowly explore after breaking through to become an advanced mage. Right now, the main focus is to build up my foundation.¡¯ Andrew stood up calmly and placed the books he carried back onto the bookshelf one by one. After all, he was already a hundred years old. Although he was anxious to extend his life, he also knew that instead of being impetuous and trying to force a breakthrough, he might as well calm down, slowly focusing on his research, as the latter might be more efficient. Thus, he tidied up his clothes slightly, pushed open the door of the collection room, and took the medal to prevent others in the Association from accidentally entering. Then, he prepared to go home according to the plan, he prepared dinner for his children who were about to return from school. ¡®Tim has been quite busy recently. I should lighten his load.¡¯ Andrew pondered. Under Topa¡¯s guidance, his son¡¯s cultivation was very efficient, but it was not good enough to be like Andrew, who was able to do housework while at the same time doing cultivation. Tim had indeed been very busy recently. He had agreed to his teacher¡¯s request and was preparing to apply for the United Academy based on a recommendation letter. For this, he had to prepare a lot of materials and documents, so he had been running around the Association¡¯s departments. Based on Mary¡¯s performance in the Grand Competition, she was heavily groomed by the Academy. It was estimated that she would be able to break through to the beginner mage realm within a year or two. On the contrary, Andrew, an old man who had always concealed his strength, was the most carefree. However, before Andrew could step out of the mage academy, he saw a young man running over hurriedly. It was one of the beginner mages that Andrew had saved when the Cyclops had invaded a few days ago. The other party ran over nervously, then he said, ¡°Mr. Smith, the vice president wants you to go to the meeting hall. The headquarters has sent someone over, it seems like they want to mediate the dispute in our Faerun City.¡± ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll go over right away,¡± Andrew said. He was the Honorary President and basically did not care about anything, but he still had to respect matters regarding the Association Headquarters. However, he had only taken a few steps when he noticed that the young man was hesitant as he grabbed the corner of his shirt. ¡°Mr. Smith, please don¡¯t say that I leaked this matter. It is said that Mr. Valle, who was sent from headquarters this time, has links with the Faerun City¡¯s faction.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure how he managed to form a relationship with them. But you destroyed the grandstand of Faerun City¡¯s Academy during the competition earlier, it¡¯s considered an accidental injury, so the Headquarters usually won¡¯t pursue it.¡± ¡°This Mr. Valle has come with bad intentions. You have to be careful.¡± ¡°I heard¡­¡± ¡°Heard what?¡± Andrew asked calmly. ¡°Valle is already one step away from becoming a great mage. My family cannot afford to offend him. You just have to be careful, don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Andrew nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone, thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I would have died at the hands of the Cyclops.¡± The young man thanked Andrew again before leaving nervously. Andrew¡¯s expression was also a little solemn. ¡®An enemy who is about to become a great mage?¡¯ ¡®Logically speaking, the development of Faerun City wasn¡¯t even as good as Rafax City. How did they gain connections with the headquarters?¡¯ ¡®Moreover, I¡¯m an Honorary President now. The Association won¡¯t discipline me easily, right?¡¯ Andrew pondered, but he didn¡¯t panic. As he pondered, he walked towards the meeting hall. ¡®An ordinary advanced mage is no match for me. Even if he is about to become a great mage, I am confident that I can remain undefeated.¡¯ Andrew was slightly relieved. On the other side, in the meeting hall, Valle looked at Lanza, who was all smiles. Valle was feeling anxious. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Andrew here yet? Could he have fled in fear of punishment?¡± His expression was a little displeased. He had indeed been summoned by the people of Faerun City. This time, he had not received any orders from the Headquarters and had acted completely on his own. If the people of Rafax City were to find out, Valle would be punished instead. ¡®But I can¡¯t refuse to help the people of Faerun City.¡¯ Valle felt a little helpless. He and Nolan were from the same faction. To plunder more resources, Faerun City had started a conflict with the surrounding cities under the private instructions of Valle¡¯s teacher. it seemed like his teacher wanted to gather some resources to practice a special spell. ¡®The original plan was going very smoothly, but suddenly, Andrew appeared from Rafax City!¡¯ ¡®This resulted in heavy losses. Not only did they fail to take down the resources, but more than half of the remaining forces in Faerun City were also wiped out. The plan was practically ruined!¡¯ The more Valle thought about it, the angrier he got. He had come here this time to find a reason to take down Andrew. Then, he would use the excuse of escorting him to the Association Headquarters to get rid of this scourge! Of course, the people from the Association in Rafax City could not stay either! Thinking of this, a ruthless look flashed across Valle¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Smith will be here soon.¡± Lanza was still trying to fake a smile. He didn¡¯t know that in the eyes of this mage, he was already a dead man! To prevent his cover from being blown, Valle decided to kill everyone in the Association in Rafax City who had seen him after he had killed Andrew. ¡®In any case, the strongest people here are only a group of intermediate mages. Killing them would be a piece of cake!¡¯ Valle was deep in thought, he suddenly saw an old figure dressed in a long robe walk in from the side of the door. He immediately knew that the main character had arrived, so he took a few steps forward and asked aggressively. ¡°Andrew, during the grand competition between the Academy of Faerun City and the Academy of Rafax City, did you intentionally use the name of the competition to destroy the stands of Faerun City, causing the students of their Magic Academy to suffer heavy casualties?¡± ¡°Did you intentionally kill your colleagues from the Association to satisfy your desire for revenge?¡± ¡°Now the Headquarters has requested to bring you back to be held accountable. Come with me.¡± ¡°Mage Nolan has already told me the whole story.¡± ¡°You must pay the price for your previous killings. Otherwise, where is the order in our Association?¡± Andrew looked at the aggressive guy in front of him. He felt that he seemed to have understood something and shook his head in amusement. ¡°As expected, you¡¯re from Nolan¡¯s faction, right?¡± Andrew was not a hothead. After all, he had been on the battlefield for decades. In such a situation, if he still could not tell that this so-called person sent by the Headquarters was biased, he would have lived his life in vain. How was this a mediation? Chapter 27 Valle originally thought that Andrew would panic after hearing his words. When the time came, he would find a random reason to bring him out of the city and easily kill him with a flip of his hand. Unexpectedly, Andrew only had a cold smile on his face. ¡°The previous conflict between Rafax City and Faerun city was completely instigated by the other party. They wanted to use the opportunity of the Grand Competition to kill the most talented students in our Academy and at the same time, seize our resources. They have brought this upon themselves.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The more Valle listened, the uglier his expression became. In the end, he directly interrupted Andrew and spat out sound waves from his mouth, which seemed to be the use of a magic technique. Instantly, a loud sound enveloped the entire meeting hall, and a hanging painting at the corner of the wall was even shaken down. ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°According to the rules, there is competition between the Associations of the various cities. It is reasonable for Faerun City to want more resources.¡± ¡°But you said that they wanted to kill the students of Rafax City. That is nonsense!¡± ¡°You were the one who used the battle to kill them.¡± Lanza quickly came up to mediate the situation. ¡°Mr. Valle, you may not know this. But during the battle between beginner mages, Faerun City sent an intermediate mage who wanted to use a magic scroll to launch a sneak attack¡­¡± ¡°What nonsense are you spouting!¡± Lanza walked over with a smile on his face, but he was slapped to the ground by Valle. ¡°Is there a rule in the Academy that says you can¡¯t use a magic scroll?¡± ¡°Ah¡­this¡­¡± Lanza was at a loss for words for a moment. ¡°Although there is no explicit rule against using magic scrolls, it is a convention that everyone defaults to. Under normal circumstances, no one would use ¡­.¡± ¡°Since there is no explicit rule against using magic scrolls, using them is not a valid reason for this Fellow to kill them!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sophomoric. You¡¯d better admit your mistake immediately and let me take you to headquarters for trial so that you might receive a lesser punishment.¡± Valle spoke to Andrew in a threatening manner. All he wanted to do now was to trick the man out of the city first. Following that, his expression changed and he added fiercely, ¡°If you refuse to admit your mistake and surrender, I have the right to represent the Headquarters to abolish the support and transfer of various supplies to Rafax City.¡± Before Andrew could speak, Lanza panicked. He ignored the fact that he had just been slapped. With a swollen face, he hurriedly stood up and tried to mediate the conflict between the two men. ¡°Don¡¯t do that, there must be a misunderstanding!¡± The vice president¡¯s mind was also buzzing. Unexpectedly, Andrew just smiled casually. ¡°What does it have to do with me if you stop the transfer of resources to Rafax City?¡± He said disdainfully, with an expression of indifference. Andrew had already read through all the books in the magic book collection. The magic crystal training room, the most important resource, was not particularly useful to him anymore. So, he was completely indifferent. ¡°Mr. Smith¡­¡± Lanza was instantly dumbfounded. He could not afford to offend either of these two! Andrew was not that heartless. He just wanted to use words to test the other side¡¯s reaction. ¡®If he is really from headquarters, he won¡¯t overreact. After all, it¡¯s none of his business whether I¡¯ll be put on trial or not.¡¯ ¡®But if¡­¡¯ Just as Andrew had expected, when Valle heard this, he was stunned for a moment before he flew into a rage. ¡°Is that so? Do you think that forcefully breaking away your relationship with the Association will be of any use? If you¡¯re not willing to confess, then I¡¯ll beat you until you confess!¡± As he said this, a hint of joy flashed in Valle¡¯s eyes. In this situation, he could casually make a move and directly beat Andrew to death. No one else would be able to say anything. This was a good opportunity! Seeing this, Lanza originally wanted to dissuade him, but seeing that Valle already had violent wind elements gathering in his hands, he suddenly did not dare to move. Fortunately, Andrew helped him out of the situation. ¡°Vice president Lanza, you should retreat for a moment. The battle between the two of us might cause quite a commotion.¡± ¡°Ok! Be careful!¡± Lanza said gratefully and directly ran to a corner of the hall, as he was afraid that he would be accidentally injured by the battle between the two of them. ¡°You¡¯re quite kind,¡± Valle said calmly. He had previously obtained some information and knew that Andrew¡¯s strength was quite extraordinary among advanced mages. Even Nolan was no match for him at all, so he used all his strength right from the start! As a wind-element mage, Valle has a unique understanding of the laws of airflow change. At the moment, he could barely imitate 70-80% of the wind elements in his body to resonate according to a specific frequency. Although it could not be called an arcane, it was enough to add an extremely powerful effect to magic! ¡°Scythe storm!¡± Instantly, the sky was filled with violent winds! Andrew was not in a hurry to make a move. In his opinion, being able to fight with a mage who had slightly comprehended a part of the arcane could also help his cultivation. ¡®As expected, this spell has been strengthened a lot.¡¯ One of the most representative laws of the wind element is the violent change of airflow. Mages who master this law will have very furious wind spell effects! The effect of the spell itself on the outside world would cause the airflow to become chaotic. In this chaotic situation, this kind of rule could multiply infinitely based on the original spell. In just a few seconds, the original scythe storm of nearly a hundred wind blades had expanded more than three times! And this was just an effect that was caused by an incomplete understanding of the arcane. ¡®A spell of this scale is not much of a threat to me.¡¯ Andrew pondered. If the opponent had used a single-target spell that could kill, he would still have some difficulty dealing with it. But now, it was much simpler. ¡°Red lotus flare.¡± The arcane level runes quickly formed in his mind. Following that, a screen of flames appeared in front of Andrew. In the next second, the flames wrapped around a few wind blades that were closest to him. In an instant, the high temperature of the flames rapidly expanded. In just half a second, most of the wind blades that were floating in the sky were ignited! The effect of the scythe storm not only did not hurt Andrew but instead became the best accelerant for his spell. Before Valle could react, the endless flames had completely burned his spell. However, this was only the beginning! Andrew casually used his spiritual power to fiddle with it. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn to taste my attack,¡± he said casually. Sparks filled the sky as they rushed straight towards Valle. This person did not have a sufficient understanding of the laws, so when the scythe storm was completely ignited in a short period, there was no way for him to generate more wind blades to counterattack! Therefore, Valle was doomed. He hurriedly opened his magic shield but was swallowed by the sky full of flames. A faint scream was heard! ¡°Now then¡­¡± Andrew walked forward calmly. At the same time, he closed his eyes to sense the power of the previously incomplete laws of the wind element and gained quite a bit of understanding. However, what surprised him was that when he was close to the center of the flames, he discovered that the previously aggressive mage from the Association Headquarters was now in ragged clothes and was escaping rapidly. Andrew could tell that the other party was heavily injured, but what he did not expect was¡­ ¡®This guy ran away in this manner?¡¯ ¡®He doesn¡¯t even dare to say a single harsh word?¡¯ Chapter 28 Valle escaped without any hesitation. His heart was filled with terror as he scolded Nolan for giving him inaccurate information. ¡®Just slightly stronger than him? That Andrew can easily defeat a spell that contains a portion of the laws. His strength is far above mine!¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s just a little bit away from the realm of a great mage.¡¯ There was only endless regret in Valle¡¯s heart! He didn¡¯t even dare to think of taking revenge! Because he knew that the mysterious Honorary President of Rafax City would become a great mage sooner than he would! ¡­ After joining the Rafax City¡¯s Magic Association branch for nearly three months, Andrew attended the Association¡¯s meeting for the first time. Of course, it was also because the topic of this discussion was indeed related to him. ¡°I think the problem is no longer serious.¡± A female mage sitting beside Andrew with a fiery red rose emblem embroidered on her forehead stood up. ¡°In any case, our Association has the upper hand in both force and moral righteousness.¡± ¡°The man from Headquarters has been defeated by Mr. Smith, who I reckon was hired by Faerun City to help. Now that Faerun City is in the wrong and can¡¯t defeat us by force, there¡¯s nothing they can do to us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± When she said this, the expressions of the people in the meeting eased up a lot. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lanza¡¯s expression became much better. ¡°Mr. Smith, it¡¯s all thanks to you that our Association was able to survive this calamity.¡± After he finished speaking, he looked around and was a little hesitant. ¡°I think about it carefully, there¡¯s still something wrong¡­¡± ¡°What did you discover?¡± Andrew turned his head and asked. He was in a state of multitasking. On one hand, he was simulating the vibration of the fire element in his sea of consciousness, while on the other hand, he was paying attention to the meeting. Lanza received Andrew¡¯s approval and was greatly encouraged. ¡°I think that Valle came here to stand up for Faerun City on his own accord. If it is someone from the Headquarters, even if Mr. Smith refused to be escorted to the Headquarters, there¡¯s no need to make a move.¡± ¡°Both parties are advanced mages. As Valle is about to become a great mage, he certainly does not act rashly at this time. And if the Association did let him take on such a simple task, the reward would not offset the loss of fighting against a mage of the same level.¡± ¡°Moreover, there¡¯s also a problem with the accountability process. Normally, they should first inform the person in charge of our Association¡¯s branch, and then I¡¯ll pass the news to Mr. Smith.¡± ¡°But Valle wanted to personally take him away from the start. There¡¯s a problem.¡± For a moment, everyone was stunned. Then, they revealed doubtful expressions. ¡°Mr. Smith, you don¡¯t have to worry too much about this matter. We will verify it with the Headquarters later. You should just focus on cultivating as before,¡± Lanza said seriously. At this moment, he was also feeling some lingering fear. Although it was very likely that Valle was not sent by the Headquarters, his strength was indeed superior to the entire Rafax City Association. If it was not for Mr. Smith¡¯s presence, things might have gotten out of hand! ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Andrew was also slightly relieved. If he had to go against the entire Association Headquarters, Andrew knew very well that he was courting death! ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to all of you this time.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take my leave first. I still have some matters to attend to.¡± After that, he left the meeting room under everyone¡¯s unsurprised expressions. He opened the magic crystal training room and impatiently began to meditate. ¡®This is arcane?¡¯ Andrew was thinking about the previous battle scene. Although the other party had been completely crushed by him without being able to retaliate, Andrew could also see the tyranny of the laws. ¡®The power of this scythe storm spell itself isn¡¯t particularly strong. However, under the support of the incomplete wind-type laws, it only used a little magic power to enter the meeting hall that covered nearly two to three hundred square meters.¡¯ Andrew pondered. If he wanted to create such a powerful suppressive force through fire-type magic, he would have to expend nearly half of his magic power! It was clear how powerful the laws were! At this moment, Andrew¡¯s heart was filled with eagerness. He focused all his attention on recalling the vibration of the wind element in the air earlier and verified the techniques that could be used in conjunction with the fire element laws. ¡®If I want to temper the vibration of the elements, I don¡¯t have to put in more mental energy. Instead, I have to use the wavelength of the elements themselves?¡¯ Andrew quickly discovered the crux under the enhancement of his hundredfold talent. Unable to wait any longer, he used his spiritual energy to once again control the magic power in the nodes in his body. As expected, he discovered that within a specific wavelength, he could use less than half of his spiritual power to cause the magic power in his body to vibrate at a special frequency. ¡®It¡¯s effective indeed.¡¯ He was overjoyed. As Andrew operated, the range of the elemental vibrations in the magic nodes rapidly expanded. However, even though he had saved half of his spiritual power, Andrew still found that the vibrations were still stuck on the special fire element that mobilized the fire spirit. He refused to give in and used up all his spiritual power. However, the extremely pure power of the fire spirit did not move at all. ¡®Huff¡­¡¯ Andrew struggled for a long time. In the end, he could only helplessly open his eyes and let out the turbid air in his body. ¡®I still can¡¯t operate it.¡¯ He tried his best to recall the properties of the incomplete wind elemental laws that he had previously observed Valle using. However, no matter how he thought about it, he was unable to apply them to his current predicament. ¡®That scythe storm started from the two tiniest wind blades to form the resonance evolution of the elements, and then expanded rapidly. That¡¯s a pretty good idea.¡¯ He tried his best to recall, and suddenly his eyes lit up. ¡®Oh right, if I were to use this idea when cultivating the law, would it work?¡¯ ¡®Although the fire spirit is now a whole before it was awakened, it existed in the form of fragments!¡¯ Immediately, Andrew had an idea, and the fire spirit instinctively sensed a trace of malice, it trembled slightly. ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid, it will be over soon.¡¯ With a thought, Andrew shattered the fire spirit that had already awakened its consciousness, but he knew he could assemble it at any time. Then, Andrew picked a fragment of the fire spirit and used his spiritual power to crush it, until it turned into a single fire element. ¡®Then, I¡¯ll try again.¡¯ Andrew slowly injected his spiritual strength. This time, although he felt a great resistance, it made Andrew happy. This was because it was finally no longer the scene where no matter how much he injected his spiritual strength, he could not shake it. ¡®Move!¡¯ Andrew gritted his teeth and increased the output of his spiritual strength. Finally, the pure fire element that formed the fire spirit successfully followed Andrew¡¯s instructions His will began to vibrate at a specific frequency. ¡®Is it done?¡¯ A gratified smile appeared on Andrew¡¯s face. However, in the next second, his expression froze. This was because he had once again heard the voice that had changed his fate. [Congratulations on your initial exploration of the rules of the elemental domain, Host.] [System phase 2 has begun.] [Beginning activation: thousandfold talent..] Chapter 29 The fire elements that were vibrating in the nodes in Andrew¡¯s body had all stopped because he had fallen into a sluggish state. Thousandfold talent was not as simple as multiplying his previous talent by 10. It was a qualitative change! During his last talent boost, his enlightenment and memory improved. And this time, in addition to the two mentioned above, his elemental perception had also improved greatly. Even the many things that he did not understand when he was researching arcane magic and arcane runes had all been instantly understood by him! ¡®If I were to research intermediate or advanced magic now, I would probably be able to complete dozens of them in a day,¡¯ Andrew pondered. However, at this moment, what made him even more pleasantly surprised was that as his talent skyrocketed, his ability to control fire elements had become more proficient. ¡®As expected, the efficiency has also increased.¡¯ Andrew was in a great mood. Previously, he had risked his life to make one unit of the fire spirit¡¯s special power resonate. However, this time, he had only exerted a little strength to control a few dozen units, and he could even sense that this was far from his limit. Andrew poured all of his spiritual power into it, and soon he found that he could control at most 174 units of the fire spirit¡¯s special power simultaneously, and the speed of the resonance had greatly increased! ¡®The increase in my talent has relieved me of my urgent need. If I were to move the elements one by one, it would probably take me several years to complete the preparation for cultivation.¡¯ ¡®Now, I can move more than 100 special elements at one time. It won¡¯t be long before I can complete the preparation for cultivating the arcane.¡¯ After the increase in his talent, what Andrew needed to do was simple. The fire spirit in his body was made up of about 20,000 elements. This number seemed terrifying, but with more than 100 elemental resonance at one time, Andrew only needed to repeat this mechanical operation 200 times. For a 100-year-old man like him, this bit of boredom was completely bearable. Thus, in the magic crystal training room, it fell into complete silence for a moment. Only Andrew¡¯s body would occasionally feel waves of scorching heat due to the vibrations of the elements. Time passed until the morning of the second day. Only then did Andrew suddenly open his eyes from his meditation. At this moment, he was still in high spirits. Even his every movement had a burning sensation as if flames were winding around him. ¡®Is this the effect of the complete vibration of magic power?¡¯ Andrew could sense that the magic nodes in his body had completely sunk into a special vibration. Under such circumstances, the structure of the diamond nodes in his body had a special effect. No matter how the magic power vibrated, the nodes were extremely stable, without the slightest damage. Andrew himself did not feel anything, but if other advanced mages who were cultivating arcane saw this, they would be extremely envious! This was because when they were cultivating, due to the resonance of the elements, it was inevitable that their nodes would be damaged by the vibration, resulting in their cultivation speed being unable to increase! However, Andrew was able to eliminate this worry. In an instant, it was almost equivalent to his efficiency had increased by several times! It was enough to make those mages go crazy with jealousy! At the moment, Andrew was not aware of his real advantage, his attention was on another discovery. Under the complete resonance of the elements in his body and the enhancement of his thousandfold talent, he had an inexplicable premonition, he was afraid that some of his intermediate spells already had a qualitative improvement! Andrew thought for a moment, he quickly sketched out a few runes in his mind and softly chanted. ¡°Attached fire.¡± In an instant, a ball of flame that flowed slowly like liquid appeared in Andrew¡¯s palm. It looked extremely hot, and the moment it appeared, the air in the entire magic crystal training room rose several degrees, ¡®The increase in energy level isn¡¯t much, but it seems to have increased in essence.¡¯ Andrew observed and then took out a small piece of fire jade from his pocket. This was an ore that could slightly speed up the cultivation of fire mages. The melting point was extremely high, and then he put the ore onto the spell he had just cast. Under normal circumstances, it would be attached to the flame, it did not affect the fire jade at all. However, at this moment, although the power of the spell had mostly dissipated the moment it touched the fire jade, a few wisps of flame still clung to it. ¡®It really works?¡¯ ¡®This is the embodiment of the burning law!¡¯ ¡®However, I can¡¯t be considered to have grasped the arcane at the moment. At most, I have imitated some of the characteristics of the basic law of fire.¡¯ Andrew was delighted at first, but then he quickly analyzed it for himself. Previously, from the book that recorded the cultivation of the arcane, he had already learned that completing the elemental resonance in his body was merely an admission ticket to the cultivation of the arcane. Even though Andrew¡¯s method of vibration was completely imitating the form of the fire element¡¯s basic law, the burning arcane, as mentioned in the book, the law cannot be put into words. He merely imitated its effect and did not cultivate the arcane. If Andrew wanted to cultivate the arcane, he still needed to study the spells after the basic entry threshold. Perhaps others would not gain anything after completing the basic resonance. However, with his thousandfold talent, Andrew managed to touch the threshold of the arcane when he had just completed the entry threshold! ¡®I remember that there are two main difficulties in cultivating the arcane mentioned in the book. The first is to complete the magic resonance, and the second is to be able to touch the threshold.¡¯ ¡®As long as I can convert a trace of the power of laws, no matter how bad my talent is, I can still break through using grinding. However, my talent is too good. While I was just preparing myself for magical resonance, I had already mastered a trace of the power of the burning law! ¡®Looks like I can save a lot of energy to advance to great mage!¡¯ Andrew¡¯s heart was filled with joy. At the same time, he also knew that he was purely lucky this time. Coincidentally, the system had given him a thousandfold talent for the second stage! Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to comprehend the arcane meaning. As he was thinking, the two flames that were wrapped around the fire jade had already gradually extinguished. It was already not easy for Andrew to gain an initial understanding of the burning law, however, when Andrew sensed the effect of the attached fire slowly disappear, his eyes suddenly lit up. With the support of his talent, he had comprehended something else. ¡®As expected, the core of this spell is the imitation of the burning law.¡¯ After Andrew closed his eyes for about five minutes, he once again released the attached fire. This time, when he threw the fire jade into the spell, the number of flames that were wrapped around it was twice as many as before! ¡®So that¡¯s what it means. The method of cultivating the arcane that was recorded in the book means this..¡¯ Chapter 30 When Andrew was flipping through the books earlier, he remembered it was mentioned that after completing the resonance of the elements in his body, he could learn spells that had similar effects to the laws. Through studying these spells and gaining insights, the frequency of the resonance of the magic power in his body would improve from the original imitation of the law to the true law of resonance, which could only be understood without words. It was precisely this process that formed the half-step great mages like Valle. They were already approaching that special resonance, and although there was still a long way to go, they could already partially mobilize the law. Compared to the true power of the law, it was much weaker, but it far surpassed the power of an ordinary mage! ¡®The attached flame just now mainly emphasized the character of the burning law that, under the burning effect, turns all the material on the target¡¯s body into fuel.¡¯ ¡®Even the non-flammable fire jade was affected.¡¯ ¡®And it was precise because I had some understanding of this characteristic that I increased my ability to release the fire attached to the target for the second time, allowing it to remain on the fire jade for a longer period.¡¯ Andrew pondered. At this moment, in a short half a day, he had completed decades¡¯ worth of advanced mages¡¯ exploration and accumulation. Other fire spells that involve combustion reactions will focus on other aspects. For example, when burning, it will release a large amount of heat as damage. When burning, the flames will attack nearby substances.¡¯ ¡®When I master all the characteristics of these spells, it also means that the resonance frequency of the elements in my body will get closer to the true law of combustion.¡¯ ¡®Only when I have reached a certain level of comprehension can I truly realize the evolution of the elemental domain!¡¯ Andrew made his deductions. Many of them had not been mentioned in the book that he had found previously about the arcane. If others had known that he had made many deductions, they would have found this quite absurd. For in the normal course of history, the development of theories from nothing to something would have taken the mage civilization on Blue Planet hundreds of years! ¡®Next, let¡¯s try other spells.¡¯ ¡®Regardless of whether that Valle was sent by the Headquarters or if he stood up for Faerun City, if I¡¯m stronger, I¡¯ll be able to solve the problem better.¡¯ Andrew felt that he had found the solution, and his train of thought excited him. He first left the magic crystal training room and returned home, and greeted Tim and Mary. After all, Andrew still had to hide his strength from the two of them. There was no reason why he would disappear for such a long time. ¡°Dad? You need to go on a business trip?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve received a mission. The Association needs me to help them investigate something, this will help me recover my strength.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that my injuries have been gradually recovering recently? I¡¯ll be able to return to being a beginner mage very soon.¡± ¡°This¡­Dad, you don¡¯t have to take such a risk.¡± Tim¡¯s expression was a little hesitant, but under Andrew¡¯s determined gaze, he couldn¡¯t say anything. He could only shut his mouth dejectedly. He knew his father¡¯s stubborn personality. Instead, it was Mary who was heartless. ¡°Really? Dad!¡± ¡°If you can recover your strength, that would be great. My older brother wouldn¡¯t have to worry about finding elixirs for you every day!¡± ¡°You!¡± Andrew patted her head affectionately, then left under the puzzled gazes of his children. The reason he made up was also traceable. After all, the news of the beast tide outside the City would be leaked out sooner or later. At that time, he could completely mislead Tim and Mary, telling them he had participated in the investigation of the beast tide. As for the people from the Magic Association, there was no need for Andrew to personally inform them. They all knew very well. If that Valle was sent by the Headquarters, then the most important thing in Rafax City right now was to let Mr. Smith¡¯s strength rise to another level! Once there was a great mage on Faerun City¡¯s side, even if they massacred the entire Faerun City¨Cnot to mention just destroying the stands of the Faerun City Academy during the battle and causing heavy casualties to their students¨Cit would not have much of an impact. The friction between the Moore Republic and the surrounding countries was endless. The value of a great mage was much more valuable than the people of a city! ¡­ ¡®First, the burning sword.¡¯ Andrew quickly drew out a few runes in his mind. Then, he picked up an iron sword that he had prepared. As he gently swiped it, flames rapidly rose from it. ¡®Compared to the flame enchantment of low-level spells, the intermediate spell version has added effect that when the blade strikes the enemy, it will cause the fire element to be retained within and burn the opponent¡¯s body.¡¯ ¡®This should also be considered a spell related to burning.¡¯ What surprised Andrew was that he had repeatedly cast the ¡®burning sword¡¯ nearly a hundred times. The insights he had obtained from the burning law helped to maintain the burning flame under strong wind and other harsh environments. After Andrew had a new insight, he could feel he had a slight adjustment in the elemental vibrations of his body, so he began to practice the next spell with satisfaction. ¡®But it¡¯s still a little slow. I have to cast the same spell over a hundred times.¡¯ Andrew was a little helpless. He was not simply casting a spell. He still had to carefully comprehend it. But the burning sword spell had taken him an entire afternoon, which made him a little impatient. However, if the other mages knew what Andrew was thinking, they would be furious. This was because they knew that even if they cast the same spell thousands of times, they won¡¯t necessarily have any knowledge of the law! Even if they had gained insight, they could not be sure if the resonance frequency of the magic power in their bodies had changed! After all, the talent and mind power of an ordinary mage was not enough to support him to sense this extremely weak elemental vibration frequency. ¡®Red lotus fire.¡¯ Andrew held a ball of flame in his palm. This spell was quite familiar to him. After all, it had been upgraded using arcane runes. However, after repeatedly casting the non-upgraded version, Andrew gradually understood how to use the burning law to increase the amount of energy consumed by the flame, resulting in an even higher temperature. ¡®The elemental vibration in my body has become much more accurate again.¡¯ Andrew closed his eyes and thought for a while, revealing a smile. ¡®Next is the poisonous fire.¡¯ ¡®This can be considered a special spell.¡¯ ¡®I still need some materials.¡¯ Andrew quickly drew out the specific runes in his mind and took out the prepared toad. As he continued to cast and study fire spells that were related to the burning characteristics, Andrew could feel that the elemental resonance in his body was becoming more accurate and precise. Moreover, every time he cast a new spell, he realized that even if he was using these ordinary spells, their power would continue to rise. In the magic crystal training room, time passed by minute by minute. Andrew had stayed in there for more than a week, but there were still no signs of him wanting to leave. This was because as his understanding of the burning law improved, Andrew needed more and more spells to improve, advance, and study to obtain a hint of new understanding and improvement of the law. However, he was very sure that when he did leave, his grasp of the arcane would be very accurate.. Chapter 31 In the magic crystal training room, the energy of the fire element surged violently, and a strange power filled the room. Some of the crystals would only melt under high temperatures before but at this moment they were burning. The air was also burning hot. It was no exaggeration to say that any living creature that entered this training room at this moment would die instantly! However, what was unbelievable was that a man was sitting calmly in this training room. He seemed unaffected by the flames. ¡®Is the effect of the flame burning body reflected on protein burning?¡¯ ¡®Not bad. Although my insight into the burning arcane itself doesn¡¯t increase much, after understanding this characteristic¡­¡¯ ¡®It will be beneficial for future combat and exploration.¡¯ ¡®After all, whether it¡¯s from a human or a magical beast, the skin, flesh as well as blood all consist of protein.¡¯ Andrew closed his eyes and kept focused. The level of science on the Blue Planet was not much worse than in his previous world. Therefore, in modern magic cultivation, some techniques were often subdivided to the extreme. ¡®Did it stop again?¡¯ Andrew let out a breath and poured his spiritual energy into the magic nodes in his body, manipulating the fire elements in his body and letting it vibrate. It was much easier than that when he had just come to the training room. Previously, he had to shatter the fire spirit so that a small part of it could slowly awaken the resonance. But at this time, the fire spirit was roughly divided into several parts, and it could be fully activated within a few breaths. This attributed to Andrew¡¯s extensive research on intermediate spells related to combustion during this period. ¡°Eh?¡± However, when Andrew was preparing to operate this time, a trace of surprise flashed across his eyes. Before breaking up the fire spirit, he could sense that the fire spirit in his body was emitting a spiritual fluctuation as if it was begging for mercy. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Andrew was curious. Then came another wave of spiritual fluctuation. After that, the little guy made the energy in his body vibrate and was in line with the other fire elements in Andrew¡¯s body. ¡°It is¡­done!¡± Andrew was overjoyed. At the same time, the moment the fire spirit vibrated, Andrew felt that the operation of the elements in the entire node become smoother and smoother without a single flaw! When Andrew cultivated, due to the difference in the quality of the fire elements formed by the fire spirit, there was a subtle difference in the frequency of its vibrations between the fire spirit and other fire elements. At this time, the difference disappeared! In an instant, Andrew felt that he had made a huge breakthrough in his understanding of the burning arcane. Moreover, with the enhancement of his thousandfold talent, he could sense that he had grasped about fifty percent of the magic. In other words, his current understanding of the magic was equivalent to that of Valle, who defeated him previously. He thought that he could be considered a future great mage, though he was just an intermediate mage! ¡®However, it seems that some errors were in the arcane book about the great mage¡¯s cultivation.¡¯ Andrew sensed that although he had partly understood the spell and could increase the power of some of his spells to an unbelievable level, he had not completely grasped the burning spell. ¡®I still need to study more advanced spells in the future or even the more arcane spells. Then I will be able to do better!¡¯ Andrew pondered in his heart, but he did not know how much advantage he had gained with the blessing of his talent. The key to becoming a great mage was just imitating a true law. If he wanted to advance to the legendary, supreme mage, or even higher levels, he would need to incorporate the true laws into his own power system! Even the author of the book that Andrew had read previously did not know about it! He had mistakenly thought that the secret meaning of the spells was a manifestation of the laws! ¡°Since I¡¯ve progressed more than half of the cultivation, then I¡¯ll directly finish the final understanding of the spell.¡± Andrew spread out his palm. He successfully created a ball of flames in his hand just using a little spiritual energy. ¡°Energy above Level Fifty, which is equivalent to that of an intermediate spell.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s only half of the power of a burning spell.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to knowing the full power of the burning spell more and more.¡± Then Andrew closed his eyes and pondered, sketching out a new spell. ¡°Flame guard!¡± He snapped his fingers in the training room where the fire elements were surging. A ball of flames slowly condensed and was transformed into a human figure, letting out a low roar. ¡­ While Andrew was cultivating, the internal department of the Rafax City¡¯s Association received a piece of good news. ¡°Vice president, according to the Headquarters, they didn¡¯t send Valle to handle the matter.¡± A young mage was standing on the brown carpet, very excited. The bright red robe he was wearing showed that he was a fire element beginner mage. When Andrew instructed the members of the Association previously, this young mage benefited greatly. After knowing the good news for Andrew, he couldn¡¯t help being excited. Lanza was also a little surprised when hearing this. ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°If we had injured people sent by the Headquarters, we would inevitably be punished.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the Association¡¯s attitude? How did they deal with the previous matter?¡± The young mage then showed a serious look. ¡°According to the Association Headquarters, given Mr. Smith¡¯s strength, they will send someone who had just broken through to the great mage realm to come here.¡± ¡°The information about the great mage is here.¡± The young man walked up to the table and handed over the document. ¡°Zefa?¡± ¡°Dark-type great mage?¡± ¡°Speaking of which, there haven¡¯t been many Dark-type mages who have broken through to the great mage in the Moore Republic for the last dozen years.¡± Lanza nodded. He investigated the connection network in Faerun City before and didn¡¯t see Zafa¡¯s name. Thinking about it, he was relieved. ¡®At least he won¡¯t be biased.¡¯ He comforted himself in his heart, and then he turned to the next page. ¡°It will be some time before he arrives. He happened to be dealing with some private matters near Rafax City, so the Association Headquarters asked him to come.¡± ¡°Then we may confirm that his arrival is a coincidence.¡± Seeing this, the two mages felt relieved. ¡°You must know that Mr. Smith¡¯s strength is almost equal to that of a great mage. The Headquarters wouldn¡¯t make things difficult for a talent like him. The dispute between Rafax City and Faerun City can finally come to an end.¡± Lanza heaved a sigh of relief.. Chapter 32 ¡°You¡¯re leaving too?¡± Tim looked at his sister and felt strange. The two of them were at home, sitting on the sofa and watching TV, or rather, the screen of the magic transmitter. He did not expect his sister to suddenly want to leave. ¡°Oh, you are going for an arcane realm exploration for beginner mages before graduation, right? I have been there too, but now¡­¡± Tim was a little hesitant. Normally, he didn¡¯t need to be hesitant. There was indeed a dilapidated secret realm outside Rafax City. The so-called secret realm was just an area that was especially rich in resources. Due to various geographical reasons and the existence of the legacies of powerful mages and magical beasts in Blue Planet, there were large amounts of rare magical minerals, various herbs, and some magical beasts. Tim heard from Topa that in Star Race, secret realms were extraordinary. In a secret realm, there were small pieces of plane fragments, small worlds that were isolated by magic arrays, and so many other magic stuff. Topa meant that the secret realms on the Blue Planet were all trash! ¡°If you want to go there, then go ahead.¡± Tim said, looking very hesitant. When he cleaned the house before, he had discovered a letter that Andrew had left. Andrew said that he was going to explore the beast tide that might erupt outside the city with the Magic Association. He had also told Tim where he would go. Tim then found that Andrew¡¯s location was not far from the secret realm where his sister would explore. ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Tim had a premonition. He didn¡¯t think the teachers would harm his sister, but he guessed that Rafax City Academy intended to take the apprentice mages to clean up the power of the beast tide in the name of exploring the secret realm. ¡°It¡¯s far more dangerous than the exploration that I attended¡­¡± Looking at Mary¡¯s expectant expression, Tim did not say anything. He just sighed helplessly. ¡°Alright, you may go to the exploration. I¡¯ll be at home and wait for you. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Then, Tim said to Topa, who was lazily lying on the sofa, via spiritual transmission. ¡°It¡¯s quite risky for Mary to go to the secret realm. We should go there as well.¡± After thinking about it, Tim still couldn¡¯t rest assured, so he immediately changed his words, so he said, ¡°Wait. We should go to the secret realm first and eliminate the possible danger in advance.¡± Topa replied with a somewhat helpless look. ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t delay your cultivation.¡± Tim seemed to be deep in thought and then he asked Mary with a smile, ¡°Can you tell me about your exploration plan this time? I¡¯m quite interested.¡± He wanted to know more about the exploration. After all, Mary was rather simple-minded. ¡°Alright! Brother! Let me tell you about it. The conditions this time might be much better than before¡­¡± ¡­ Three days later. ¡°Goodbye.¡± Tim watched with a smile as his sister left home. When he saw Mary¡¯s figure disappear, he immediately put on his robe and asked Topa to cast a wind element spell on him. Then he rushed out of the city. He was familiar with the secret realm that the Academy would explore, and he arrived there with Topa after half an hour¡¯s journey. ¡°Let me see the Academy¡¯s plan this time. Will they go towards the direction of the beast tide? Let¡¯s go there first and kill the more dangerous magical beasts. We may leave some weak ones for Mary and the others to practice their magic.¡± Tim said to Topa. ¡­ ¡°Toi herb is ripening again¡­¡± ¡°A flamingo¡¯s nest has appeared in the secret realm again this time. It seems that Mary will be able to earn a few more credits in her exploration this time.¡± As Tim walked deep into the forest, the cracking sound of withered leaves came from beneath his feet. The sunshine was completely blocked by the tall trees. Due to the accumulation of magic power in the secret realm, the plants here were rather tall and large. ¡°With the cultivation level of Mary, if she came to this place alone, she would be dead. In addition to the darkness that makes it easy to get lost, there are quite many magical beasts here.¡± While Tim was thinking, he drew out a wind blade and threw it vertically up. Then, a snake monster with its head cut off fell from above. ¡°Beginner-level magical beast, skeleton snake?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t feel good to be bitten by it.¡± Tim picked up the snake¡¯s body and quickly took out its gall bladder. Then, he threw the remaining flesh to Topa. Topa devoured the essence of the entire magical beast with a bite. ¡°Generally speaking, there should only be low-level magical beasts around. But we encountered a beginner-level magical beast. So we should be close to the location of the beast tide now.¡± As Tim analyzed, the scenery in front of him suddenly changed. What was originally a forest turned into a place that looked like a plain. The vegetation was very lush, but the highest plants in this plain were only some shrubs. ¡°Where are we now?¡± Tim was stunned. Topa said via spiritual transmission. ¡°Be careful, Tim. It seems like we¡¯ve hit the jackpot?¡± ¡°This is a serial secret realm. Bah! The secret realms on the Blue Planet can¡¯t be identified as secret realms at all. But we are now in a real secret realm!¡± ¡°This place should have been a space isolated by a spell formation.¡± Topa was pleasantly surprised. ¡°A secret realm of this level on the Blue Planet might not be something that we can explore. Can we return by the way we came?¡± Tim walked back tentatively and returned to the forest. Seeing this, Topa was relaxed and said, ¡°This is a good opportunity! Since we can freely enter and exit this secret realm, it is estimated that it is not be controlled by humans. We can explore it. If we can find some secret treasures, you will be able to improve your strength.¡± ¡°But Mary is¡­¡± Tim said. Seeing this, Topa immediately added. ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to help your father recover his strength? Only a true secret realm like this will enable us to find the precious herbs.¡± ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go!¡± Hearing this, Tim made up his mind. He turned around and return to the realm that was isolated by the array. ¡­ ¡°Go around on the left.¡± Tim tiptoed and hid with the help of bushes. Upon hearing Topa¡¯s voice, he immediately turned around. After walking for about ten meters, Tim found his target ¡ªA tree spirit disguised as a withered tree. It patted the ground angrily, causing the ground to shake. ¡°This is an intermediate magical beast. We can defeat it. But if we attract other magical beasts, we will definitely die.¡± Topa took a deep breath as he said. Tim was speechless. ¡°I¡¯ve already avoided more than ten magical beasts because of your reminder. Why do I feel like I missed many things on this trip? Someone had been to this secret realm before. We didn¡¯t find any treasures so far!¡± he said. Hearing this, Topa also felt somewhat helpless, saying, ¡°We can only go to the deepest part of the realm to take a look first. Perhaps we will have some gains. After all, we¡¯re already here.¡± Tim sighed and nodded. Just as they were lost in thought, Tim suddenly stopped. He discovered a human figure in front of him. In addition to a human figure, he also saw the body of a demonic beast. What surprised Tim was that the monster could speak! ¡°Zefa, you¡¯ve broken through to become a great mage and absorbed many things I¡¯ve provided you. Now it¡¯s the time for you to repay me.¡± The person called Zefa nodded calmly. ¡°I see. I¡¯ve already accepted a mission in Rafax City. When the time is right, we can collaborate. Then we¡¯ll destroy this city soon.¡± ¡°What?¡± Before Tim could digest this information, he suddenly heard Topa exclaim through the spiritual transmission. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Behemoth? Although he used magic to conceal his figure, this magic is a concealing spell exclusive to the Behemoth race!¡± Tim was a little dumbfounded while Topa explained patiently. ¡°According to the record on the Blue Planet, Behemoth is the natural king of the magical beasts. It can use its innate ability to control many magical beasts whose ranks are inferior to his. Moreover, according to the consensus of some intelligent magical beasts, they are also willing to follow the orders of the Behemoth race.¡± ¡°If he is the one who controls the beast tide, I reckon that your city will head for destruction¡­¡± ¡°Hold on. If on the Blue Planet, the Behemoth shouldn¡¯t be that strong. Moreover, his collaborator is just a great mage.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay! Don¡¯t panic. Just saving your father and your sister shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± There was a hint of fear in Topa¡¯s tone, but his voice quickly returned to normal. ¡°Let¡¯s report this to the Association now.¡± Tim felt bitter. He was well aware of his strength. Although he was far stronger than his peers, the power of the man and the beast in front of him was far beyond his! He wanted to slip away quietly, but unexpectedly, as he retreated, he seemed to have triggered something. A black fog suddenly rose and surged into his sleeve. ¡°Oh no! This is the symbol of darkness, damn it!¡± Topa was experienced and knowledgeable, so he immediately shouted via spiritual communication. ¡°Quick¡­ly?¡± Topa was stunned. Because he found that Tim had cast several wind-type spells and was a few hundred meters away! Topa floated in the air and quickly followed him. Meanwhile, the great mage Zefa was stunned for a moment, and then he was furious! ¡°Who is it?¡± He activated his magic power and shot it out.. The power flew a hundred meters and chased after Tim! Chapter 33 Andrew felt strange. After casting the first half of the burning spell, the speed of casting the second half became easier. When he was casting the fire element spell that contained the burning element, he could feel that he could do it easily. Originally, he might have to try hundreds of times before he could reach the threshold of the spell. But at this time, he could grasp the crux and gain new insights just by casting it once or twice. ¡®It¡¯s so strange. It won¡¯t be that easy for other mages, right?¡¯ Andrew pondered. After cultivating in seclusion for almost half a month, he only used a mere three days at the final juncture! He had grasped the last part of the burning spell. At this moment, Andrew was sitting in the magic crystal training room with an extremely strange expression on his face. Around him were more than a dozen types of fire-type spells that were constantly being generated and destroyed on their own. What was even more terrifying was that the nodes in his consciousness became vague. And the nodes were surrounded by raging flames. The fire elements in his body had almost become the embodiment of the combustion! The nodes could not be preserved anymore. Even the edges of Andrew¡¯s consciousness had been entangled with flames! ¡°Damn it!¡± Andrew groaned in pain. At this moment, every sliver of his spiritual power that he had accumulated was being burnt by the flames in his consciousness. Then his spiritual power became purer and purer. Such benefit was with a price: Andrew was enduring extreme pain! He felt that it was ten times more painful than that when he was severely injured by that great mage on the battlefield! What was even more outrageous was that the pain wouldn¡¯t end in a short period! As Andrew¡¯s understanding of the burning spell increased, more and more parts of his consciousness were ignited. Everything in his body, including blood, bones, tendons, skin, fingernails, and hair, carried faint signs that they were about to burn under the effect of this mysterious flame. In the high temperature, his cells were rapidly regenerating with more vitality. Andrew had a premonition that after the pain, his entire body and mind would change greatly! ¡°But the premise is that I can hold on!¡± Andrew¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and he could no longer sit steadily. He was even pounding the ground crazily. Every time he pounded, some cracks appeared on the extremely sturdy floor of the magic crystal training room. For a moment, the entire room was filled with resounding noises! Andrew rolled around, looking like a mad demon! He was conscious and firm. He knew that ordinary great mages would not encounter a situation like this! As mages cultivated, the magic power in their body would be affected and some elements in their bodies would become a little violent. However, sometimes ordinary mages would spend months or even years to gain an understanding of the spell. They could calm down themselves in the fluctuation of magic power easily. Andrew completed his understanding of the arcane in a mere half a month, so he was unable to calm down his magic power. It could be said that he was completely caught off guard and was drowned by the violent change of magic power! However, if he could endure it, the benefits would also be great. What he got would be many times more than the benefits that an ordinary mage would get from cultivating! His spiritual power would be purer! The endurance of his consciousness would also be widened! The structure of the original diamond magic power node would also become tougher, and its bearing capacity would also be greatly strengthened! Physically, he could also break away from the weak state of an ordinary mage! At this moment, Andrew felt an incomparable pain all over his body. His entire body looked like a human-shaped torch. The flames formed by the magic power contained vast power, which was far more desperate and painful than throwing himself into a sea of fire! ¡®I¡¯m a transmigrator with a cheating program. My luck and talent are all first-class!¡¯ ¡®Furthermore, I have lived for a hundred years. In terms of willpower, I am also extremely strong. How could I be defeated by such a difficulty!¡¯ Andrew was determined. He quickly adjusted the frequency of the vibration of the magic power in his body. Meanwhile, the fire spirit seemed to have noticed its master¡¯s predicament and hurriedly followed suit to improve the amplitude of its resonance. Just as Andrew was about to lose consciousness from the burning of the flame, he suddenly opened his eyes as if a pathway in his mind had been opened. The flame on his body hadn¡¯t extinguished, but Andrew¡¯s mind was clear! The flames in his consciousness stopped burning. The magic power in his body was resonating and moving in an extremely harmonious and special way. He succeeded! ¡®I see.¡¯ The flames on Andrew¡¯s body also gradually receded. At this moment, he finally fully understood what the essence of the burning spell was. The cultivation of countless characteristics earlier made him understand that the effect of this arcane was extremely simple and crude. ¡®As long as I activate the power of the fire element, the flames will spontaneously search for all the energy and magic power that can be consumed, and burn without any upper limit until the opponent turns into ashes!¡¯ Of course, this kind of burning would also be affected by the upper limit of Andrew¡¯s strength. After all, this kind of burning was only an imitation, and could not be used independently. Andrew was still unable to burn enemies above the great mage level easily. However, when fighting against weaker opponents, Andrew only needed to use a trace of magic power or cast the simplest beginner or intermediate spell and would easily turn them into ashes! ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Andrew sensed for a while and found that the fire spirit in his body seemed to have been sublimated due to the arcane. Its original image form was just a very blurry human figure but at this moment it looked like a child. Its strength had also increased a lot. The fire spirit was quite excited and continuously conveyed joy and gratitude to Andrew. It also faintly told Andrew that it could now assist him in the use of some magic. Some simple spells could achieve a double effect because after Andrew cast a spell, the fire spirit would cast the same spell. ¡°Not bad.¡± Andrew thought of something and then condensed a small fireball in his palm. This time, when Andrew took out the fire jade from his pocket and threw it into the fire, something unexpected happened. Previously, only a few wisps of flames would appear when he threw the fire jade into the fireball. But at this moment, the fireball directly surrounded the entire non-flammable jade! The next second, the violent flames burned the fire jade into ashes, leaving only a small ball of pure fire element power. ¡°My cultivation is completed!¡± Andrew breathed a sigh of relief.. Chapter 34 ¡®Still changing?¡¯ Andrew was a little surprised to find that the two-in-one magic power node that had been roasted previously had gradually stabilized from its melting state. At the same time, the pure spiritual energy generated in his body and fire-type energy in the magic crystal training room were frantically surging into Andrew¡¯s body, as if they were about to form the third node in his body. Moreover, the magic power, the spiritual power, and the spiritual structure were all improved! ¡®My body is also changing.¡¯ Andrew was pleasantly surprised. The next moment, he was stunned. He found that other than his consciousness, his body also began to evolve! ¡®Sure enough, the pain just now was worth it.¡¯ Andrew was overjoyed. His clothes had been burned to ashes and he observed it curiously. ¡®The power of the fire spell was so strong.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a little tragic.¡¯ Andrew was speechless, but he did not panic because he sensed that as the third magic node was formed, an inexplicable life force appeared in his body. It was a condensed form of the original life force in his body. With the breakthrough in his strength, the force was returning to his limbs and bones. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Andrew stretched his body. Besides, the boundary of his consciousness that had been riddled with injuries was also rapidly healing and becoming more resilient and more vast. Every organ was rapidly recovering. Of course, during this process, Andrew directly absorbed all the fire element magic power in the magic crystal training room! As expected, as the magic power vortex appeared, the fire element crystals in the training room were once again drained of their power and then exploded! ¡®This training room was modified by Lanza before, right?¡¯ Andrew was wondering. No matter how foolish Lanza was, he should modify the training room after he knew that Andrew had damaged the training room twice! This room was specially provided for Andrew and could reserve five times energy more than before! But even so, it was still not enough for Andrew! Andrew not only needed to absorb the magic power to help him regenerate the nodes, but he also needed the power to help recover the damage to his body and spirit. As a result, after the absorption of the magic power, a large number of crystals fell off in just a few minutes, and finally turned into a pile of debris,! Fortunately, Andrew managed to absorb enough magic power during this process. ¡®Too much magic can be bad.¡¯ Andrew felt helpless. After the upgrade of his consciousness, he had to be burned by the burning spell before the magic power was absorbed into his body. Although his spiritual structure became incomparably pure, his magic power decreased by at least four-fifths at the same time! However, although he was complaining, he was very excited. ¡®If I¡¯m not wrong, a big problem has been solved ahead of time.¡¯ Andrew looked at the changes in his body with some surprise. After a large amount of magic power was absorbed, his body regained its vitality. Previously, his arms were full of all kinds of scars and wrinkles. But after he absorbed the new life force, his skin looked fair and healthy. His muscles, skin, and even nerves that were burned and destroyed by the flames all regenerated! Andrew could feel the changes throughout all over his body! He opened his mouth to speak but found that all of his teeth had fallen off. Following a burst of piercing pain, he had new teeth. And there was also a slight tingling sensation on his head. ¡°My hair turned black again. It¡¯s so amazing.¡± Andrew sighed with emotion. He casually grabbed a broken crystal by his hand, raised a flame, and melted the crystal into a mirror. Then, he looked at himself in the mirror before he exclaimed in surprise. ¡°This is what I looked like when I graduated from the Magic Academy. At that time, I was only eighteen years old.¡± Andrew had a myriad of thoughts. The last time he looked like this, he was just a magic apprentice. But at this time, he was an intermediate mage who had mastered the burning¡­ No. Something was wrong! Andrew sensed that the third magic node in his body had been formed! It was the same as the previous nodes. Although the magic power in the third node was not enough, Andrew still could sense that he made a breakthrough again! He had successfully advanced to an advanced mage! ¡®Is this a reward?¡¯ Andrew was a little surprised at first. The prerequisite to becoming an advanced mage was three nodes filled with magic power. But he had not met the requirements. Soon, he understood what happened. ¡°My thousandfold talent was completely held back by my old body. The cultivation this time was a blessing in disguise. After breaking through with the help of a burning spell, I got a new body.¡± As he murmured, a pained expression flashed across his face. It could be said that his body was remade. Andrew stood up, extremely excited. Human emotions were related to the hormones in the body. In the past, even he was extremely joyful or extremely sorrowful, the hormones produced by his old body were very little. But at this time, he was full of vigour and vitality and his body could produce more hormones. ¡®This is a good thing. If I were to break through to a higher level, an old man¡¯s stagnant state of mind would be disadvantageous.¡¯ Andrew smiled. Then he seemed to realize something and touched his pocket. He didn¡¯t wear any clothes, so naturally, he did not touch anything. Later, he found his phone which was burnt into a few melted electronic components in a corner of the room. He was helpless. ¡°Then how can I ask someone to bring me clothes in my current state?¡± Andrew fell into deep thought. Fortunately, this problem was not difficult to solve. Andrew used his spiritual power to transmit his voice through the door of the magic crystal training room and successfully got an apprentice mage to bring him a robe. He immediately wrapped himself with the robe tightly. Many people in the Magic Association knew that Andrew was an old man. But at this moment, Andrew looked so young. Andrew was hesitant and he did not know how to explain to others. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult for me to break through again and become a great mage. I can make it after a few days. Should I go home now?¡± Andrew thought of his children who still did not know about his cultivation. Then he was truly distressed and frowned.. Chapter 35 Tim vaguely remembered that when he chose wind-type spells as his second attribute, Topa told him that this type could enable him to move fastest and made it easier for him to escape. Tim finally knew how good the spells were. If he had not chosen wind-type spells, he would have been killed by the enemies behind him! ¡°Are we back to the city?¡± Tim ran frantically with one hand on his chest. Though he was very fast, he was still attacked by Zefa with a Dark-type spell that he did not recognize at all! Initially, Tim only had a small wound on his chest. However, that wound was eroding his skin crazily! Normally, Tim would be able to easily recover from this injury by meditating. However, he did not have a chance to do so. All he could do at this moment was run! ¡°It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s a great mage.¡± Topa flew as he calmly said to Tim. ¡°The spell he cast should be called the embrace of pain. Fortunately, you dodged in time. That mage did want to kill you. He even used the Dark-type spell called corrosion.¡± ¡°If the area of your body that was hit was a little larger, you would be dead.¡± Topa shivered as he spoke. Zefa turned the forest two miles around into a poisonous swamp that was emitting a fishy smell! However, because of the tremendous power of his spell, he had to stop and rest for a while. Tim seized the tie and managed to run away. ¡°Have we arrived?¡± Tim saw the team from Rafax City Academy. He stumbled over with all his strength. Finally, he fell to the ground and fainted. In the distance, Mary, who was at the front of the team, saw this scene and immediately screamed in horror, ¡°Tim! Why are you here?¡± ¡­ ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing, Raphael? This person stole the secret of the Association. I have to take him away!¡± Zefa said, draped in a long robe. His face was gloomy, and his chest was heaving. He was angry, but the advanced mage in front of him did not give in. ¡°According to the rules, you are the executor of this mission, and I am the supervisor. I came to Rafax City first. There was no notice from the Headquarters that someone stole the secret.¡± Raphael replied calmly. The Mage Association¡¯s Headquarters was afraid that there would be another battle between powerful mages, which was a waste of the mage power in Moore Republic so it specially assigned Raphael, a descendant of the Headquarters, to oversee this mission. When Raphael found that Tim was a beginner mage who cultivated both the wind and fire spells but was able to withstand Zefa¡¯s attack and run back to the city, he thought Tim was a talent and wanted to protect him. Raphael was not familiar with Zefa. He thought he was just doing his duty impartially and that he had the responsibility to protect the future young generation of the Moore Republic. ¡°I¡¯m a great mage. I¡¯m much more valuable than this beginner mage.¡± Zefa held back his anger and a black ball of light appeared in his hand as if he was ready to attack at any moment. Although Raphael knew that he was less powerful than Zefa, he still said calmly, ¡°Look at this.¡± He pointed to a transparent badge on his shoulder and continued, ¡°This is a recording instrument issued by the Association. All communication between us has been sent to the Headquarters. If you insist on taking away this young man, I¡¯m afraid we need to fight.¡± Zefa gritted his teeth and took a few steps forward, but after a while, he turned around and left in anger. The force was so strong that even the door frame was slightly deformed! Raphael calmly added, ¡°That mage is in a coma. If you want to kill him, I suggest you report it to the Association Headquarters. They will give you an answer after a discussion.¡± ¡°F*ck off!¡± Zefa roared furiously. He knew that forcefully killing Tim here was equivalent to going against the Headquarters. But¡­ ¡®The benefits of my cooperation with that magical beast are not enough to make me pay such a huge price.¡¯ he thought. To his relief, according to Raphael, the mage who peeked at him was still unconscious, so his identity hadn¡¯t been exposed for the time being. ¡®I need to spend some money now.¡¯ Zefa calmed down and decided to gather the mages from his faction and put pressure on the Headquarters together. He felt distressed as he took out a teleportation scroll from his pocket. This was a rare space-type spell. Zefa didn¡¯t know how to make such a scroll so he could only buy one from others. It was very expensive. He gritted his teeth and tore it apart. He took a step towards the blue light in front of him and entered the Headquarters. Zefa then contacted a few of his friends and waited with a darkened face. ¡°What did you say? The application is still not approved. Did you tell them that the mage I chased after stole the information of the spells that we created? We must kill him! This is a legal application!¡± Zefa communicated with the clerk sent by the Headquarters. Veins were popping out on his face, and he was in a rage. He had changed a more acceptable reason, but the clerk still said with some regret, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. According to the report from Rafax City, a mage named Andrew might become a great mage soon. The reason is that he already has half of the strength of a great mage. According to the results of the Association, Andrew defeated Valle who was of the same strength as him. Therefore, we believe that Andrew has great potential to become a great mage, so¡­¡± ¡°So what!?¡± Zefa¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°The mage you want to kill is called Tim, and he¡¯s a direct relative of Andrew. The Association advises you to communicate with Andrew first. If it¡¯s confirmed that Tim has stolen your magic research materials, we will help you claim for compensation.¡± The clerk looked enthusiastic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Association Headquarters will never let a great mage suffer losses. Please believe us!¡± ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Zefa¡¯s eyes were red as he cast a Dark-type spell. Then the table made of the top-grade sandalwood between him and the clerk turned into ashes! Zefa was boiled with his anger! Chapter 36 Andrew stood up and walked out of the room. He suddenly felt fresh. In the past, although he had a thousandfold talent, he still could not help but feel tired. But at this moment, he felt as if he had endless energy! ¡°From now on, nothing can stop me!¡± ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯ve come out of seclusion¡­¡± ¡°You¡­have broken through!¡± At the same time, a mage who was passing by with a worship badge on his sleeve went over and said. However, he was shocked by what he saw. An exceptionally handsome and refined young man who looked similar to Andrew was standing in front of him. This mage was instantly stunned on the spot. Then, he realized that breaking through to become a great mage would increase one¡¯s lifespan! ¡°But¡­isn¡¯t this too ridiculous?!¡± On one hand, he was surprised at Andrew¡¯s youthful look. And on the other hand, he found it unbelievable because¡­ ¡°I remember that you had just become an advanced mage not long ago!¡± The mage was completely dumbfounded. The speed of Andrew¡¯s breakthrough was inconceivable! It had only been a month but Andrew broke through again and again! In comparison, the mage had just barely learned an intermediate spell in the past month! The gap between their powers was too big! However, the mage was quite talented in Rafax City, and had graduated first in the Academy! ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Andrew asked. The mage calmed himself down and spoke slowly, ¡°Mr. Smith, the Association Headquarters said that your son is suspected of stealing the arcane research secrets of a great mage.¡± ¡°Zefa, the new dark element great mage in the Association, requested the Association to hand over your son.¡± ¡°Now, your son is being detained and needs your help.¡± The mage told Andrew that Tim fainted outside the city and that Zefa had been pressuring the Association. ¡°What?¡± Andrew frowned in disbelief. ¡®Tim has Topa so he doesn¡¯t need any research results on Blue Planet ¡­¡¯ ¡®There¡¯s something wrong! Tim was framed!¡± ¡®Moreover, Zefa is so ruthless. It seems that he won¡¯t give up until Tim is dead!¡¯ Andrew was both angry and confused. He did not understand what Tim had done to provoke the great mage Zefa and made Zefa target him. If he had not been recognized by the Association as having the potential to break through to become a great mage, perhaps Tim and Topa¡¯s secret would have been exposed! ¡°Alright, I see.¡± Although Andrew was confused, he did not think too much about it. He said goodbye to the mage in a hurry and headed to the sound transmission kiosk in the Association to ask the Headquarters about the situation. ¡®I¡¯ll save Tim first.¡¯ ¡®As for Zefa¡­¡¯ ¡®If it is a false accusation, I will get even with him.¡¯ Andrew vaguely remembered that according to the rules, as a great mage, he could sign a guarantee and bail his son out first. Andrew took a few turns and passed through a narrow corridor. Then he arrived at the room where the suspects were in detention. To his surprise, two mages that were not from Rafax City were arguing in front of him. ¡°You¡¯re going against me, aren¡¯t you?!¡± Zefa looked at Raphael, his eyes filled with a murderous look. Zefa failed to put pressure on Headquarters. He was the only one who collaborated with Behemoth and his good friends had no reason to insist on killing Tim. At this moment, he could only hope that Raphael would relent. But Raphael still said in a calm tone, ¡°I only do my job according to the rules.¡± Zefa was about to speak when a voice came from behind. ¡°Zefa, I heard that you accused my son of stealing important information from you? Do you have any evidence?¡± Andrew asked with an aggressive tone. Hearing the voice, Zefa turned his head. He sensed that the mage who was talking to him was just an advanced mage so he said arrogantly, ¡°Evidence? What I said is evidence!¡± He showed a furious look and was even more irritated. Then he guessed the person in front of was probably Andrew, whom the clerk had mentioned before. ¡®Humph, he is not a great mage yet. In front of a great mage, he is nothing! Andrew and his useless son brought me so much trouble. Damn it!¡¯ Zefa was thinking whether he should kill Andrew! ¡°Wait! Although we trust Zefa, we can also interrogate Tim publicly. I remember that he¡¯s a good student. Maybe there¡¯s some misunderstanding.¡± Someone said at this time. In the end, Zefa didn¡¯t do anything because a few members of senior management of the Rafax City Association arrived, including President Lizzy. Zefa did not dare to say that he could defeat Andrew and President Lizzy at the same time. ¡°Okay,¡± Zefa said, gritting his teeth. He thought that maybe Tim did not hear much of his conversation with that magical beast. After all, he set many traps there! However, the current situation was out of his control, which made him angrier! Then, everyone in the Association turned to look at Andrew. Andrew nodded in agreement and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I want to say. Let¡¯s dealt with this case according to the rules.¡± ¡­ The group of people entered the room where Tim was. The room looked good. It was bright with a constant temperature. Andrew was initially a little worried. But when he saw Tim recover well, he was relieved. However, Topa, who was lying beside Tim, looked exhausted. ¡°Tim, tell me what happened between you and Zefa?¡± Lanza said amiably. President Lizzy watched them silently. She came here purely for the beast tide. Andrew observed the woman who seemed to be in her twenties. Her face was exquisite but she always showed a cold look, as if she didn¡¯t want to come here at all. ¡°Think carefully before you say anything. As a great mage, I will give you a fair punishment.¡± Zefa glared at Tim fiercely, but his palms were sweating. Tim smiled casually and said, ¡°I broke into a secret realm and discovered that Zefa was discussing a collaboration with a magical beast.¡± ¡°To repay the magical beast for helping him to break through, Zefa promised to cooperate with the beast to destroy Rafax City. Then I was almost killed by him. Well, even now I¡¯m still very dangerous.¡± Tim did not mention Behemoth¡¯s name. At the same time, he secretly accumulated his strength. He had discussed with Topa that Topa would burst out with the accumulated star power and the two of them would escape from here! As soon as Tim finished his words, everyone¡¯s face changed drastically! They instinctively turned to look at Zefa! Except for Andrew who just frowned slightly, all of them scattered like frightened birds! Chapter 37 The air was frighteningly quiet. For a moment, Topa¡¯s breaths were the only sound in the room. The mages of Rafax City were all wet with cold sweat as though confronted by a formidable enemy! They had felt that there was something wrong with Zefa¡¯s behavior from the beginning! Tim¡¯s coma was clearly because of the dark-type spell. This meant that Zefa had attacked with all his power! If Zefa¡¯s arcane technique had been stolen, he should actively seek compensation to protect his interests. Besides, Tim couldn¡¯t steal anything from Zefa with his current strength! Instantly, everyone believed Tim¡¯s words. At the same time, President Lizzy, who had only just returned to the city after exploring the arcane realm for nearly ten years, felt pressure and panic! After all, Zefa was a great mage. If he launched an attack, it would be catastrophic! Other than Andrew, none of the people present felt that they could retreat unscathed! A terrifying atmosphere slowly brewed in the room. Zefa spoke, ¡°He¡¯s talking nonsense!¡± ¡°Why should I cooperate with the magical beast to destroy Rafax City? There¡¯s nothing worth coveting in such a small city!¡± ¡°Besides, how it is possible that a great mage like me betray humanity? The Association treats me well!¡± ¡°Do you guys believe in me or this beginner mage? You have to know that a weak guy like him is easier to be bought over by the magical beasts!¡± Zefa was also shocked by Tim¡¯s words just now. He didn¡¯t expect that what he talked about with the magical beast was heard by Tim! His heart was filled with shock and fear but he was trying to justify himself. Meanwhile, he was secretly accumulating magic in his hands and was ready to attack at any moment! At this moment, Lanza was flustered. He turned his head to look at President Lizzy who was nervous. Then he looked at Andrew helplessly. ¡°Mr. Smith¡­what do you think we should do?¡± he asked. At the same time, Lanza was shocked. He had been in a hurry to deal with the case and had just found that Andrew had become much younger. ¡®Could it be¡­the effect of a great mage breaking through which made him regain his youth!?¡¯ Lanza suddenly relaxed. ¡®If Andrew breaks through, then we can retreat unscathed!¡¯ However, Andrew just nodded calmly. ¡°Of course we should follow the rules and regulations of the Association! Since both sides have their own opinions, then we¡¯ll go through the process of approval. Whoever is guilty will be punished according to the rules.¡± If Andrew still couldn¡¯t tell that something was fishy about Zefa, then he was a real fool. It was obvious that Tim saw the cooperation between Zefa and the magical beast so he was chased. Zefa had to come up with a reason to kill him! ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for my potential being archived in the Association Headquarters, I¡¯m afraid that¡­¡± The more Andrew thought about it, the more he couldn¡¯t hold back his anger. However, Zefa¡¯s outburst was faster than his! ¡°What are you doing?¡± Raphael stood beside Tim. He panicked as he watched Zefa closing in on him step by step. He wasn¡¯t standing here relying on his strength as an advanced mage, but the recording device attached to his body. However, Zefa shot forward like an arrow! With a wave of his hand, he released a cloud of dark purple smoke. Raphael took a few steps back helplessly. He knew how powerful the corrosive dark element was. If he resisted, even if he did not die, he would at least be badly injured. Zefa was not surprised. He continued to charge straight at Tim. He had already made up his mind. If he killed this useless beginner mage here, he could still have a chance. If the Association Headquarters investigated the case, it would probably be very impossible for him to hide his secret! Tim did not expect Zefa to take such a big risk and forcefully launch an attack! For the time being, he could only retreat with the help of the wind element spell. However, the environment in the room was cramped and narrow. The space available for Tim to maneuver around was extremely limited! He was about to be forced into a dead-end! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Zefa sketched out a spear-like dark element magic condensation that was filled with a strange aura. This was the shadow spear, the most powerful advanced spell! Besides, Zefa also infused his understanding of the corrosion into it. He was very confident that as long as he touched Tim, he would kill Tim in an instant! The people from the Association Headquarters chose to protect themselves. On the contrary, the seniors of Rafax City brazenly protected Tim. In addition to the identity of Andrew¡¯s son, Tim was a promising mage of the younger generation of Rafax City. They would never allow an outsider to kill him! Moreover, Zefa might have betrayed the human beings and cooperated with magical beasts! Lanza and the other mages quickly cast a spell and set up a few buffs on the body of President Lizzy. They knew that their strength was low and they couldn¡¯t defeat Zefa. Only President Lizzy who had made a breakthrough for nearly ten years had the strength to fight with Zefa. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Lizzy instructed Tim. She quickly condensed a layer of solid ice in her palm and waved it. It was an advanced spell called Wall of Sighs! Furthermore, Lizzy poured out all of her understanding of the ice-type arcane freeze! A short wall made of ice was built in front of Tim! However, Zefa just sneered when seeing this. ¡°I¡¯ll let you see what a real arcane is!¡± He used his shadow spear and the spear penetrated the wall at once, and the effect of corrosion broke out. Lizzy took a few steps back, a trace of blood seeping out of the corner of her mouth, and her magic power was in disorder. This veteran powerhouse actually couldn¡¯t withstand a single attack! Moreover, Zefa was still in his prime condition! As he closed in on Tim step by step, the two top-notch powerhouses, Raphael and Lizzy, revealed expressions of despair! They knew very well that if Zefa succeeded in killing Time, they might also be killed! On the contrary, Lanza and the others from Rafax City still had hope. If Andrew could fight with Zefa, there might be a chance! ¡°How dare you!¡± Andrew just snorted coldly, and immediately, the red lotus flare¡¯s runes were drawn in his mind! The purest flame appeared in the air like a predator, and suddenly rushed towards the spell that Zefa had cast! With the understanding of the burning arcane, the flame burned on the dark element as soon as they touched each other. Soon, the shadow spear was destroyed and disappeared! Everyone was dumbfounded and Zefa couldn¡¯t believe what he had seen! Chapter 38 ¡°The power is not bad.¡± Andrew nodded. He just used a trace of the arcane power mixed in his magic, but the result was very obvious. Andrew won! The red lotus flare that he had used was still turning into flames and burning on the ground! ¡°Who on earth are you?¡± Zefa said with disbelief. In his opinion, the person who had attacked him should be Tim¡¯s father, Andrew. However, Zefa did not expect that this guy would be able to block his attack! ¡°In this case¡­¡± Zefa seemed to want to say something, but the next second, he suddenly launched an attack! This time, he did not use any fancy spells. As a great mage, he naturally could cast more advanced spells. However, for those who had just advanced, the most powerful skill at this moment was not casting any spell but the pouring out of all his arcane! ¡°Go to hell!¡± With a wave of his hand, Zefa shot out a ball of dark elements with a special resonance frequency towards Andrew! This was pure corrosion arcane! Once hit, even a great mage would be killed within a few seconds and corroded into a pile of bones! ¡°Good job!¡± Andrew¡¯s eyes lit up. He was worried before that though he had broken through, there was no one in Rafax City for him to test his power. He outlined a ball of fire elements with a resonance in his body and let the burning arcane rush towards the dark element power! The next second, the two balls of energy fused and exploded. The two powers clashed crazily and counteracted each other, splashing out light and heat. For a moment, the surrounding magic power was in a mess! However, the outcome was quickly determined. The dark element energy that contained the corrosion arcane was defeated! Soon, Zefa was even more terrified when he discovered a fireball that was filled with burning energy flying towards his face! He hurriedly rolled on the ground a few times in a pathetic manner before he barely managed to dodge it! ¡°Great mage, you nothing more than this?¡± Andrew waved his hand and extinguished the fireball that was smashed onto the furniture, in case that the effects of the burning arcane burnt the entire room to ashes. ¡°How could it be?!¡± Zefa took a few steps back, his eyes filled with shock! As a great mage, he could easily sense Andrew¡¯s actual strength. Andrew was only an advanced mage! When Andrew first defeated his shadow spear, he didn¡¯t care about it. But this time, he found that Andrew had already grasped the arcane! It maddened him! The arcane was not easy to control! The reason why he needed to reach the great mage level was that only when he reached this level, he could have enough spiritual power and magic power to support the cultivation of the arcane! However, at this moment, Andrew could easily control it! Didn¡¯t this mean that though Andrew was an advanced mage, he had the spiritual power of a great mage and could understand all kinds of magic power?! ¡°Why?¡± Zefa¡¯s eyes were bloodshot! He had investigated Andrew before, so he was very clear that Andrew had just broken through to become an advanced mage not long ago! But he didn¡¯t expect that even the speed of Andrew¡¯s arcane cultivation was far faster than others. Zefa had painstakingly cultivated for more than ten years before he was able to get a basic understanding of the dark-type arcane. To achieve his goal, he betrayed Rafax and let the magical beast teach him about the arcane. In the end, he barely managed to grasp the arcane and broke through to become a great mage! ¡®Andrew grasp the arcane so easily!¡¯ ¡®Moreover, the number of fire elements he released just now was not much more than mine. But he was able to defeat me so easily! The purity and quality of his power are also much higher than mine!¡¯ ¡®How could this guy appear on the Blue Planet? The geniuses in Star Race are only average compared to him!¡¯ Instantly, the killing intent in Zefa¡¯s heart soared! He was considered knowledgeable. But this day he found that even in the entire Moore Republic, there weren¡¯t many people who could compare to a genius like Andrew! ¡®If I don¡¯t kill him now, he will come to take revenge on me in a few more years! I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t even have the chance to retaliate at that time!¡¯ Zefa decisively took a step back and raised his palm in front of his chest, the runes rapidly sketching out in his mind. ¡°Shadow strike!¡± Logically speaking, this was just an ordinary advanced spell, but its effect could be increased by the mage¡¯s additional strength without limit! And this time, Zefa attacked with all his strength! He drew out almost all of his dark magic power! At the same time, he used all his spiritual power and made the dark elements resonate at a crazy frequency! All of his magic power and his understanding of arcane burst out at the same time! For a moment, everyone¡¯s expression changed! They retreated a few steps as if they were facing a great enemy. They knew very well that if they were grazed by Zefa¡¯s magic power, they would probably be in great pain! Even Topa, who had always been calm, opened his eyes and shrunk towards the corner of the wall. Only Andrew remained calm. ¡°That¡¯s all you can do?¡± Andrew sneered and then cast the new spell he learned after his breakthrough. ¡°Flame burst!¡± What made the mages present dumbfounded was that Andrew had just cast a mere intermediate spell! Even though he had also activated the arcane, his magic power could not be compared to Zefa¡¯s! ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Zefa was overjoyed when he saw this. He felt that Andrew was too arrogant! As expected, even though Andrew¡¯s magic power was extremely strong, it was not able to completely negate the power of the shadow strike. The power of the corrosion arcane wrapped around Andrew. ¡°Be careful!¡± Lanza shouted nervously. Meanwhile, Andrew stood calmly. He fired another shot. Flames burst out and easily destroyed the remaining power of the shadow strike, and then charge at Zefa! ¡°Double casting!¡± Lizzy, the President of the Rafax City Association, cried out in surprise. However, no one else paid attention to the name of the spell. They stared blankly at Zefa being wrapped in flames! ¡°Damn it!¡± Zefa was extremely embarrassed. The magic power in his body had almost been used up. He was unable to disperse the power that contained the burning arcane. He could only roll on the ground while screaming miserably. Finally, he threw his robe and escaped with his underwear on. The other mages were stupefied by the scene! They had noticed that something was wrong with Zefa a long time ago but they were afraid of him so they didn¡¯t dare to go against him. In the Association, almost no one could defeat Zefa! However, Andrew, a mage who was born in a small place like Rafax City defeated Zefa easily. For a moment, everyone felt it extremely ridiculous.. Chapter 39 Even Lanza and the others who had always trusted Andrew were stunned. From their point of view, Andrew broke through not long ago. It would be good enough if he could bear Zefa¡¯s attack. Generally speaking, he couldn¡¯t win against Zefa! However, the reality had given them a hard slap in the face. Andrew had defeated Zefa with just an intermediate spell, and he was much more powerful than Zefa! Zefa was even more shocked and furious! ¡®I must kill Andrew now!¡¯ Zefa didn¡¯t give up. He had planned to kill all the powerhouses in Rafax City. The mysterious magical beast gave him a secret technique to increase his elemental power. ¡°But¡­¡± Zefa gritted his teeth and instantly swallowed a pill. Andrew did not have the time to stop him before he heard Zafa¡¯s violent howl! Then he saw Zefa¡¯s entire body was wrapped with an extremely strange power. ¡°Behemoth¡¯s technique seems to have been updated as well. He actually taught Zefa the method of raising strength by burning their blood essence.¡± Andrew immediately understood everything when he heard Topa secretly transmit a message to Tim. Zefa was complacent again. He sensed the surging power in his body and instantly became extremely confident! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Zefa casually created dozens of dark magic spells. As he activated the secret technique of burning his blood essence to increase his strength, his mind was also greatly affected. He actually did not have the ability to focus all his firepower on Andrew. Seeing this, Andrew just gently pushed the power of the magic nodes. In an instant, the air was filled with fireballs that he released. ¡°You go to hell.¡± Zefa¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and his expression was crazed. Dozens of vines that were formed by dark elements charged straight towards Andrew¡¯s face. At the same time, the aftershocks almost destroyed everything in the room. It was fortunate that these spells were not aimed, allowing the other mages in the room to barely escape. ¡°Is he out of his mind?¡± Andrew summoned a fireball to meet the attack. At the same time, he tried his best to block the violent dark magic created by Zefa. In less than half a minute, the entire sealed room was turned to a pile of debris after a violent collision. Even the Mage Tower they were in was almost destroyed by the shockwave from the clash between the fire and darkness elements. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Andrew saw that Zefa had been in a berserk state, so he suddenly exerted his force. After dodging a few attacks, he immediately gathered a blade that contained the burning law in his hand. ¡°Intermediate magic¡ªthe sword of fire.¡± Andrew had obtained great benefits from being burned by the burning law. His physique was far better than that of his peers. In an instant, he took a step forward and cut off Zefa¡¯s hand! ¡°Ah!!¡± Zefa retreated, screaming in pain. He covered his wound and retreated into a hole that had been blasted out. After being heavily injured, Zefa gradually regained his senses. In great pain, he stared at Andrew with resentment and then sneered. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ve won?.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Raphael, the supervisor from the Association, sensed something wrong and his face changed drastically! Zefa said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared before I entered the city.¡± ¡°What have you prepared?¡± Andrew frowned, but Zefa just stared at him viciously. ¡°That beginner mage is right. I indeed cooperated with the magical beast. Moreover, our goal is to destroy Rafax City!¡± ¡°What? You bastard!¡± President Lizzy immediately rushed forward and shouted. She was initially exploring the arcane realm. If it were not for the beast tide, she would not have to return to the city. ¡°Goodbye, everyone!¡± Zefa suddenly took a step back when he saw Lizzy rushed towards him. Then, with his remaining hand, he cast a magic seal. With a tremor, everyone saw an extremely powerful magic fluctuation appear outside Rafax City. ¡°This is a teleportation door!¡± Andrew sensed sharply while Zefa laughed maniacally. ¡°That¡¯s right. All of you will die here. Initially, to avoid suspicion, I had planned to kill this kid and then open the teleportation door. The Association wouldn¡¯t doubt me.¡± ¡°Now, I have to say that although it will be much riskier to do so, as long as all of you die under the beast tide, I can still escape!¡± Zefa spoke arrogantly, but he was also very cautious. Step by step, he slowly moved out of the Mage Tower, ready to take the opportunity to escape at any time. ¡°We have to go now!¡± The two Presidents of Rafax City said anxiously. Because a large number of beginner magical beasts and intermediate magical beasts had arrived at the city. When the soldiers guarding the city noticed them, they shouted in fear. Many people in the city had noticed the appearance of the magical beasts. Everyone ran frantically, and the city was in mess! However, some people did not realize the seriousness of the situation at this moment. Raphael, who came from the Association Headquarters, took out a telescope-like instrument and observed it for a while. Then, he frowned and said in a deep voice, ¡°I can sense that the teleportation door was opened in advance, so the magical beasts are not ready for the battle yet. However, I can sense the aura of some advanced magical beasts.¡± ¡°There are even a few auras of great mage-level magical beasts. Although the auras are weak, they do exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we can¡¯t protect Rafax City this time.¡± As Raphael spoke, he looked at the expressions of the people present. He sighed in his heart. If an advanced magical beast came, it would require several great mages to suppress it. With the support of Andrew, they might be able to win the battle! However, if magical beasts of the great level came, they would be defeated! Raphael glanced at Zefa with resentment. He knew that it was not time to think about that this great mage had betrayed them. What was the most important was they should make preparations for the battle. Otherwise, their city would be destroyed! Raphael felt a little depressed. He found that when Zefa attacked Tim, Zefa released a ball of black fog. Although he managed to dodge, the fog destroyed his recording device. If everyone present died, Zefa would have a chance to clear his name! Chapter 40 Andrew looked outside the city with a calm look, and then suddenly took a step forward! ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us!¡± He wanted to kill Zefa first. But President Lizzy shouted nervously, ¡°No!¡± ¡°A self-destruction of a great mage level will cause huge damage to the city!¡± Her worry was not without reason. Zefa thought that he could escape unscathed because he wanted to take advantage of this point. After becoming a great mage, the power of the magic nodes in his body was highly condensed. So, if he was in a desperate situation, he could completely burst out all the energy in his body as a last resort! Zefa¡¯s meaning was clear. If the people of Rafax City wanted to stop him and fight with him, it would cause mutual destruction. In the end, all of them would die in the beast tide! However, he did not expect that Andrew would be so brave and rushed over! ¡°Are you crazy? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will perish together with you!¡± Zefa dodged the flaming sword in Andrew¡¯s hand in a fluster as he shouted in an extremely aggrieved tone. If the one who attacked him was an ordinary great mage, he could have relied on his magic to fight with him. However, Andrew was unconventional! He first cast a spell to add fire under his feet and then condensed a sword and a whip in his hand. Then he launched a series of attacks! ¡°You¡¯re going too far!¡± Zefa could only dodge again and again, but he was still in danger. ¡°I¡¯ll fight it out with you!¡± After being forced to a dead-end, Zefa the great mage finally realized that he couldn¡¯t run away this time. He summoned the dark element power in his body and prepared to perish together with Andrew! However, he heard a sneer the next moment. ¡°Stupid.¡± Andrew sneered. The arcane spell the red lotus flare suddenly appeared! They directly wrapped around Zefa¡¯s body. The fire spirit was secretly casting a spell! ¡°Goodbye,¡± Andrew said. Zefa had detonated his magic node. However, the full power of the burning arcane forcibly ignited the power that turned turbulent in Zefa¡¯s body! In an instant, Zefa looked like a huge burning torch! However, even though his power was constantly spreading outwards, it could only be ignited by the fire element! As a result, after being scattered for a few minutes, all the power in Zefa¡¯s body disappeared! Andrew then calmly turned his head and looked at the stunned mages present. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re awesome.¡± The Association Headquarters¡¯ Inspector, Raphael, said respectfully. He had seen many great mages in the Moore Republic, but he had never seen anyone who could burn a great mage to death! The gap between their strength was too big! ¡®Only legendary mages and supreme mages can do this easily! But Andrew even is not a great mage. His understanding of the burning arcane is far beyond that of an ordinary mage!¡¯ Raphael felt dizzy. However, Andrew did not have time to care about the surprise of these people at this time. He looked in the direction outside the city and frowned. He knew that once the beast tide erupted, the result would be extremely tragic! Andrew did not always live in Rafax City. About 30 years ago, Pompeii City that he lived in was destroyed by a beast tide! The beasts were different from the human armies. The latter might left some valuable people like women and children, but the magical beasts killed all the creatures that they saw! All valuable things would be devoured or destroyed by them! If they couldn¡¯t defeat the beasts this time, Rafax City would become a ruin and a dead city and there was no possibility to restore it! That Zefa opened the teleportation door meant that the beast tide would erupt! It meant that there would be a disastrous war between the people of this city and the magical beasts outside the city! After a short moment of silence, the two Presidents of the Association who had initially wanted to help, as well as the seniors of the Association, gathered around Andrew. ¡°Mr. Smith, there¡¯s still some time before the magical beasts attack us. Why don¡¯t we retreat first?¡± It seemed that they did not hesitate when making such a decision. They didn¡¯t think that they could defeat the beasts! Defeating a magical beast required several mages of the same level to attack together, especially when fighting with powerful beasts such as Cyclops. Other than Andrew, there were only two advanced mages in the city. There were about ten intermediate mages. The remaining beginner mages would not be of much help in the battle. They might even be beaten to death by the magical beasts! There was no chance of winning! There were hundreds of thousands of people in Rafax City. Even if the magical beasts kill the people crazily, it would still take some time to kill all of them. Time was enough for the mages and their families to run away! Even Lanza said to Andrew, ¡°Mr. Smith, we can¡¯t defend the city this time! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°With your talent and strength, you will be valued and respected where you go!¡± Everyone present felt utterly wretched. If it weren¡¯t for the situation, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to give up their home. Looking at them, Andrew smiled and shook his head. Then he said, ¡°I think it¡¯s not time to give up yet. There are several magical beasts of great level in the teleportation door, but it¡¯s unlikely that they all come and attack Rafax City!¡± ¡°I guess that the beast tide will erupt in many places on the planet at the same time. If there aren¡¯t many magical beasts of great level in Rafax City, I can handle it!¡± ¡°You guys guard the city! I¡¯ll go to the teleportation door and kill those powerful enemies! In this case, can you guard the city?¡± Andrew said, gritting his teeth. To be honest, he had lived in the city for decades and got along very well with his neighbors. Before his talent awakened, he was just an ordinary old man. He was helped by many people in the city. Therefore, his conscience didn¡¯t allow him to leave the people in the city and run away! ¡°Mr. Smith¡­¡± The mages present realised that they had made indiscreet remarks. ¡°Alright! Then we¡¯ll do as you say. If you can block the attacks from the powerful beasts, we will also try our best to destroy the enemy! We are not that timid!¡± As the vice-president, Lanza made a decision. The others present did not say anything. Under such conditions, no one had the cheek to say that he would run away. Andrew nodded calmly. Then, he tidied up his robe and dashed in the direction outside the city. ¡­ Boom¡ª The sky was filled with flames and there was the sound of explosions everywhere! Either the beginner magical beasts or the intermediate magical beasts were unable to withstand a single blow from Andrew. They were all burnt into charred corpses and ashes. ¡°You even can¡¯t withstand a single blow.¡± Andrew casually waved his fingers and looked rather relaxed. ¡®I¡¯m closer to the teleportation door and have fended off the first wave attacks from the weak magical beasts. There should be sufficient time for them to get ready.¡± Andrew restored his magic power. He didn¡¯t consume much of his spiritual energy in the battle just now because half of the spells were cast by the fire spirit. ¡°The next battle will be tough!¡± At this moment, he was staring intently at the teleportation door in front of him. He could sense the killing aura inside. One¡­no, several powerful magical beasts sensed what Andrew had done. It was obvious that they were about to come out! ¡°Come on.¡± Andrew smiled as a flame formed by the pure burning arcane appeared in his hand. The teleportation door suddenly emitted a strong light and some ripples slowly appeared..