Do You Make Wands?

After Lin Xiaowei put it that way, Li Yao really did feel a little uneasy.

He pursed his lips and thought, Why the hell am I chickening out? At least I'm good-looking! During this period, Li Yao had fully settled into a rhythm. Nearly two-thirds of every day was spent cultivating. Although the Meditation Technique was a mage's foundation, whether it was the Qi Refining Technique or studying magical knowledge, both could refine one's mental power.

Because mental power came from the soul,

and absorbing knowledge to shape one's consciousness was itself a tempering of the soul.

He had worked hard, and he was outstanding. There was no reason he couldn't do it!

Li Yao frantically talked himself into it, building up his own mental defenses and dispelling the doubts and uncertainty in his heart.

This was Li Yao's strength. Whenever something major happened, he remained calm; his mental fortitude was absolutely solid. All he had to do was work hard, and as for the rest—charge through it! He let out a long breath, feeling his state of mind settle considerably.

Li Yao sent a message: "I'll be fine."

Lin Xiaowei could probably guess what sort of internal pep talk Li Yao had just gone through. Li Yao was a top student, but she was a genius... the kind of freak who could stay up all night gaming before an exam, half-asleep during the test, and still get a perfect score. So she replied, "Mm, you'll be fine."

Actually, the problem was huge.

She still vividly remembered the pain of her soul being branded during her own advancement. She had nearly failed at the final step.

Fortunately, her mentor had given her a sharp wake-up call at the crucial moment, allowing her to endure it and advance in a single step, becoming a Formal Mage.

But Li Yao had no mentor by his side! It was all damn remote teaching. Mages might be a rigorous and highly logical profession, but many things still had to be taught face-to-face.

Lin Xiaowei was deeply worried, yet powerless.

Separated by two worlds,

all she could do was wish Li Yao well and pray for him.

Lin Xiaowei: "Oh, right, Li Yao. Do you make wands?"

Li Yao's face immediately darkened. "Why are you insulting me again?!"

I'm already nervous here! Fine, you don't give me some chicken soup for the soul to encourage me, but now you're insulting me too? You damn mutt, you're getting a little too full of yourself!

Lin Xiaowei explained, "No, no, I'm seriously asking you. Do you make wands?"

Li Yao: "..."

You're definitely doing this on purpose! She was asking whether Li Yao wanted to make a magic wand. It was a mage's weapon.

By now, the mage system had developed many schools—the Elemental School, the Item School, the Pill Consumption School, the Troop-Spamming School, the Fortification School, the Summoning School... New schools emerged one after another. Generally speaking, given mages' long lifespans and boundless energy, they would try almost every school before finding the one they liked best and studying it in depth.

The usual path was to begin experimenting as a Novice Mage, basically settle on a school in the intermediate stages and develop a model suited to oneself, then become thoroughly proficient at it in the advanced stages.

Generally, mages who pursued magic wands were usually cleaver-type fighters focused on attack power and casting speed. They were practically humanoid mobile artillery batteries...

But Li Yao did not want to become that kind of fighter.

He had little interest in equipment such as magic wands and mage robes.

So he did not understand why Lin Xiaowei had brought it up.

Lin Xiaowei organized her thoughts before explaining, "The Advancement Ceremony is a transformation of an apprentice's soul. No external equipment can provide help, but that isn't absolute... I prepared materials for making a magic wand for you. Among them is a Soul Gem. I asked my teacher to embed a Sage's Dao Sound spell within it. If you turn it into a wand and nourish it regularly, it may help with your advancement."

Li Yao had no teacher on Earth,

so Lin Xiaowei would create the most favorable conditions she could for him! It was as though a warm current welled up in Li Yao's heart and slowly spread outward... He pursed his lips, then finally typed two words: "Thank you!"

Lin Xiaowei: "Why be so polite? I've practically given you all my worldly possessions~"

Li Yao felt even guiltier.

Lin Xiaowei: "I heard that when someone with a bitter heart hears someone call them Dad, all their misery disappears... So, can you call me Dad?"

Li Yao rolled his eyes. What the hell was wrong with her? Li Yao: "Call you what?"

Lin Xiaowei eagerly wanted to reply with the word "Dad," but just as her fingers rose, she lowered them again. With a cold sneer, she replied, "Heh, Li Yao, you've changed!"

Li Yao: "Is that supposed to be funny?"

Lin Xiaowei: "It's hilarious (〃'▽'〃)!"

Li Yao: "See you never, Smile.JPG."

Then he cut the connection and logged off!

Did people from another world not understand memes or what? Trying to banter with me over an interdimensional connection? Was she insane? No, that girl just needed a lesson! Li Yao took a deep breath and warned himself that he had to grow stronger faster than her. Otherwise, when she returned from the other world... she really would grind his face into the dirt... As long as she couldn't kill him, she'd play him to death! Just thinking about it was terrifying! Li Yao shuddered, then turned and went upstairs to cultivate.

The next morning, Li Yao woke from meditation feeling refreshed and incomparably clear-headed!

He rummaged through his Space Ring and found the magic wand materials Lin Xiaowei had mentioned inside a long rectangular case.

There were several raw materials for making magic wands inside—Dragon Blood Purple Leaf Sandalwood, Mind Flayer Black Vein Birch, Eye Demon Tumor Knot Grapevine, and so on. They were basically special varieties of wood cultivated by the Magic Association through special methods.

Without exception, all of them were materials that aided in conquering one's mental will.

These magic wands were already processed semi-finished products. The wand cores had been embedded, and the magic arrays had been inscribed. All that remained was for the mage to set the gem in place and infuse it with their own mental power to refine and fuse it together—wand makers would not perform this final step, because once it was done, it meant the wand's "first time" had been taken. If another mage wanted to master and attune to the wand afterward, it would take a great deal of effort.

After choosing for a while, Li Yao picked up the magic wand made of Dragon Blood Purple Leaf Sandalwood, then took out the Soul Gem embedded with "Sage's Dao Sound"...

He licked his lips.

This was his first time trying to take something important's first time...

Ah,

he was a little excited.

This was actually very bad.

The first time between two rookies was extremely awkward and stiff. If both parties were beginners, the first experience generally would not be very good... Ahem, ahem, he was getting off track.

By now, the mage system had become very mature.

Accordingly,

the techniques developed by its various schools were also very mature. These magic wands had basically been fully prepared. As long as he followed the steps, there should be no problems.

So Li Yao held the Dragon Blood Purple Leaf Sandalwood in one hand and the Soul Gem in the other, muttering, "Then... here I come!"

The roughly ninety-five-centimeter-long semi-finished magic wand, evenly proportioned and elegant in shape, purplish-black, long and thick, moved toward that smooth, round gem...

and shoved itself in!

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