Advancement

Unless they could defeat Duke Bidia as they had defeated the Fifth Legion's chief mage, they would only then send troops into Bidia Territory.

However, unlike the Fifth Legion's chief mage, Duke Bidia was a powerhouse who had been in the Saint Domain for more than three hundred years.

His strength was far beyond what the Fifth Legion's chief mage, who had only recently broken through to the Saint Domain, could compare to.

At the very least, in Locke's view, Bidia Territory was still very safe for the time being.

Thus, after sending a letter to his family through a merchant association in Bidia Territory, Locke rented a quiet courtyard and began cultivating in peace.

Every day, Locke's schedule was packed.

He replaced sleep with meditation to restore his Mental Strength.

Once his Mental Strength had recovered, he entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man to comprehend the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog and enhance his Mental Strength.

After more than half of his Mental Strength had been depleted, he began analyzing magical incantations.

As a fan of Coiling Dragon, compared to people of this era, Locke had a broader and more systematic understanding of the cultivation system of the Coiling Dragon Universe.

Therefore, compared to those who knew nothing, Locke's cultivation was more targeted.

When he was seven years old, Locke had been tested and found to possess an affinity for water-element magic, after which he entered a magic academy in the Frost Snow Empire to study.

After becoming a Level 1 Water Mage, the first spell he encountered was the Level 1 spell, Water Mist.

Later, aside from meditating to refine Magic Power, Locke devoted most of his mind to analyzing magical incantations.

After all, magical incantations were the rudimentary forms of Profound Mysteries, created by the Overgods through breaking down Profound Mysteries.

Every magical incantation could be regarded as a tiny fragment of a certain Profound Mystery within a particular school of magic.

At the age of sixteen, Locke finally completed a full analysis of the Water Mist incantation and came into contact with a trace of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog through Water Mist.

After several years of studying other similar spells, Locke ultimately succeeded in comprehending a trace of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog. Using this trace of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog he had comprehended, he developed a move like the Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel.

It was precisely because Locke had comprehended this trace of a Profound Mystery that he was able to raise his Mental Strength from Level 5 to the peak of Level 6 in just three short years.

The magical incantation Locke was currently studying was the advanced form of Water Mist: the Level 3 spell, Illusionary Barrier.

Unlike Water Mist, which could only obscure an enemy's vision by creating mist, the Level 3 spell Illusionary Barrier could not only block an enemy's sight, but also affect their sense of direction to a certain extent.

If someone were trapped within Illusionary Barrier and unlucky enough, their sense of direction might be so affected that they would keep circling within its range until they starved to death.

Because he had comprehended a trace of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog, Locke's research into Illusionary Barrier went extremely smoothly.

Almost every day, Locke could feel himself making progress.

That feeling fascinated Locke.

Finally, four months later, during one state of Unity of Heaven and Man, Locke's Mental Strength underwent a qualitative transformation and broke through to Level 7.

After his Mental Strength reached Level 7, what Locke felt most deeply was that, in the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, he could sense the Profound Mystery he had comprehended more clearly.

Moreover, through the tiny fragment of the Profound Mystery he had comprehended, he could vaguely sense the broader and boundless Profound Mysteries beyond it.

If Locke's comprehension were extraordinary, he could use this trace of the Profound Mystery he had comprehended as a foundation to comprehend more and stronger Profound Mysteries.

Furthermore, after his Mental Strength reached Level 7, Locke made even greater progress in his analysis of the Illusionary Barrier spell.

Finally, two months later, Locke completely finished analyzing Illusionary Barrier and came into contact with more of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog.

After Locke completely comprehended the portion of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog related to Illusionary Barrier, he felt that, when in the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, the amplification effect of drawing upon the Momentum of Heaven and Earth had become twice as strong as before.

For example, if Locke's comprehension of the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog had been at its current level when he fought that Rank 7 Knight from the Temple of Light, killing that knight would not have been so troublesome.

A single Water Dragon Chant would have been enough to kill that Rank 7 Knight.

During these two months in which Locke comprehended the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog within Illusionary Barrier, he also completed the liquefaction of his Magic Power.

In other words, twenty-four-year-old Locke had successfully advanced to become a Rank 7 Archmage.

After leaving seclusion, Locke made some inquiries and found that there was still no news of the Fifth Legion being reorganized.

According to the Frost Snow Empire's military regulations, if a defeated legion was not reorganized within a year, it meant that the Empire had abandoned that legion.

At that point, the people in the legion had two choices.

The first was to join one of the other four legions, continue fighting for the Frost Snow Empire, and exchange military merits for cultivation resources.

The second choice was to no longer join the military and instead cultivate independently as a free agent.

However, even free agents had to join the military and continue serving the Empire if the Empire enacted an emergency conscription.

It had now been seven months since the Fifth Legion had been defeated. As long as he waited another five months, if the Fifth Legion still did not announce its reorganization, Locke would regain his freedom.

No, he would not need to wait five months. He would know in just three months.

Because reorganizing a legion also required time for preparation.

This was especially true for a legion with an Imperial designation, which was of the utmost importance.

After all, unlike the armies nobles used to defend their own territories, this was the Frost Snow Empire's army for resisting the Temple of Light's invasion, even counterattacking the Temple of Light and driving it out of the Vakanda Plane.

In order not to violate the Frost Snow Empire's laws and become a wanted criminal, Locke stayed in Bidia Territory for another three months.

After confirming that there was still no news of the Fifth Legion being reorganized, Locke put away the medal representing his status as a military mage of the Fifth Legion and vacated the house.

From this day onward, he was free!

Although Locke could no longer obtain further cultivation resources from the Frost Snow Empire after becoming a free agent,

with his strength having reached his current level, he no longer lacked resources.

The Profound Mysteries Locke had comprehended were already enough to allow him to directly advance to the Saint Domain once he reached the peak of Level 9.

Cultivation resources were not of much use to Locke.

What Locke lacked now was time to cultivate!

As long as Locke had enough time to cultivate, he could one hundred percent reach the Saint Domain and enjoy an endless lifespan.

And that time would not be long.