Where Was the Dark Arts We Were Promised?!

Learning Nightmare Magic proved even more difficult than Li Weide had imagined.

It was not until he had persisted for over two hours and slept four or five times that he finally understood the helplessness felt by generations of the Somnolence Family.

The practice requirements for this magic were simply too demanding.

The very first step alone was enough to make most people give up.

Because to practice Nightmare Magic, the first step was to remain lucid in a dream...

What did it mean to be lucid in a dream?

It meant realizing that you were dreaming while in a dream, then trying to control and master your dream while remaining conscious within it!

Anyone who had dreamed knew that it was difficult to notice that you were dreaming while asleep.

Those who could realize they were dreaming were already fewer than one in a hundred.

Not to mention staying conscious after realizing it, then controlling their dreams.

Even if you realized you were dreaming, the moment you stayed conscious in the dream, the dream would end...

So the requirement for powerful soul strength to practice Nightmare Magic was no idle claim.

"Toby, what time is it?" Li Weide asked, rubbing his eyes.

He had already slept several times. Every time, he had only just realized he was dreaming when he woke up, ruining everything...

"Young Master Weide, it is now four twenty-one in the afternoon," Toby's voice came from the second floor.

He was preparing afternoon tea and snacks for Li Weide in the kitchen upstairs.

"Almost four thirty... I can still sleep once more!"

As he spoke, Li Weide picked up the old wand beside him and pointed it at his head again.

"Sweet Dreams!"

White Mist drifted from the wand, and Li Weide rolled his eyes before falling asleep once more...

Fortunately, with the spell's assistance, this kind of sleep would definitely include dreams.

Otherwise, if he merely fell asleep without dreaming, this magic would be even harder to practice.

Li Weide began dreaming as soon as he fell asleep.

Within the dream, Li Weide sat leisurely in a beautiful garden, drinking afternoon tea and reading a book, in an exceptionally pleasant mood.

Thanks to his understanding of magical principles from previously studying Occlumency, as well as his repeated practice of this magic,

Li Weide once again noticed his true state very quickly.

Li Weide sighed and reluctantly set down his teacup and book.

Compared to his previous dreams, this one could be considered a pleasant dream...

After Li Weide realized he was dreaming, the fragrant tea lost its flavor, while the interesting book became completely blank.

Just like the endings of his previous dreams, as he became conscious, the entire dream began to collapse...

The once-beautiful garden seemed to have been covered by a black-and-white filter, losing all its color.

Suddenly, the collapse of the surroundings stopped.

At the same time, countless strands of White Mist abruptly appeared beyond the garden wall, slowly climbing over it and spreading into the garden...

The moment Li Weide saw the mist, he quickly began backing away.

He had seen this scene in several previous dreams.

Whenever he touched the mist, he would immediately wake up.

As Li Weide understood it, the mist should have been a tangible warning provided by his magic.

Otherwise, trapped in the dream, Li Weide would have had no way of knowing exactly when he would wake up.

By then, Li Weide had retreated from the table in the center of the garden to the wall.

The White Mist had spread close, less than a meter away from him.

Li Weide could not help sighing. The entry requirements for this magic were far too difficult.

From becoming conscious, to the dream beginning to collapse, to the White Mist touching him, there were only a little over ten seconds.

In such an emergency, Li Weide felt he had no time to do anything!

As the White Mist closed in again, Li Weide felt his back press against an icy wall.

It was the garden wall. At that moment, he had nowhere left to retreat.

"This wall is really sturdy... If only I could use a wand in my dream, then I could just blast through it..."

Li Weide froze before he could finish speaking to himself.

Because he discovered that, somehow, a wand had appeared in his hand!

"Why do I have a wand? Aren't I dreaming? How did I bring a wand into my dream?"

The mist was about to touch his toes.

Without time to think further, Li Weide turned and pointed his wand at the wall.

"Confringo!"

"Boom!"

The sturdy wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, as though it had been struck by a cannonball!

Li Weide beamed with delight and tried to rush out, but the instant he exerted himself, he stopped again.

Because he discovered there was nothing beyond the garden wall! Everything around him was a vast white void!

And the entire garden was suspended in that boundless void!

If he had noticed even a second later, he would have fallen into the void!

Li Weide was deeply frustrated. He had nearly escaped the White Mist, only to find that there was no road ahead.

"Tch, if only there were a path..."

The moment he spoke, a narrow white path appeared, winding and stretching infinitely into the distance!

Li Weide's eyes widened at the sight.

"This is... controlling the dream? Right! After staying conscious, I'm supposed to control the dream! What was I doing just now?! Why was I doing nothing but standing there?"

Li Weide understood in an instant. He had thought he was already conscious in the dream, but in truth, he had not been.

He had merely been half-awake and half-asleep!

Although he had realized he was dreaming, he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to try controlling the dream!

It was not until he had absentmindedly made a wish and received a wand that he became alert.

Then, after his wish for a path had been granted as well, he finally became completely awake!

He remembered exactly why he had entered the dream in the first place!

The moment Li Weide remembered everything, the White Mist instantly froze, then slowly dissipated into the air, as though it had completed some mission...

Li Weide took a deep breath.

"Change for me!"

The moment he spoke, the entire dream world underwent an earth-shattering transformation!

Before long, Li Weide found himself standing on a street in London.

Traffic flowed through the streets, and crowds surged past.

But the farther the street was from Li Weide, the more illusory it became, until it vanished into a void...

Li Weide had not truly arrived in London. The scenes of London before him were London he had conjured by controlling his dream.

For now, it seemed he could only simulate one small stretch of street. Anything more was beyond him...

Beyond that street scene was still endless void.

However, this still proved one thing: Li Weide had successfully changed his dream!

Just as Li Weide prepared to change the dream again and switch to another scene, he suddenly felt waves of stabbing pain in his head.

Then heaven and earth spun...

Li Weide abruptly opened his eyes and looked around blankly.

It turned out he had already awakened from the dream.

At that moment, the newly awakened Li Weide was overwhelmed by a tide of drowsiness, unable to summon even a shred of energy...

Forcing himself to endure, Li Weide pulled another Wakefulness Potion from his robe and gulped it down!

Only after resting for quite a while longer did Li Weide finally recover.

Controlling the dream and conjuring a London street scene had consumed a tremendous amount of his soul strength and mental energy, leaving him utterly exhausted.

However, as he gradually recovered, Li Weide discovered to his delight that his soul strength had actually grown a little stronger!

In other words... although this Nightmare Magic could not yet be sustained for long, could it train his soul strength and enhance his mental power?

A Dark Arts spell that did not inflict negative effects on its caster, but instead gave him a buff? Was that reasonable?

"Wait... where was the Dark Arts we were promised?!"