Three Paths of Cultivation for a Legendary Wizard

Feeling the power of the Flesh Conversion sorcery, Isaac thoughtfully stroked his chin. To be fair, this sorcery truly complemented the Demonic Heart Transplant Surgery, instantly making the procedure far more practical.

The original Demonic Heart Transplant Surgery was mainly intended for humans. By transplanting the hearts of magical creatures, one could gain mana and strengthen the body. The degree of enhancement varied slightly depending on the quality of the Demonized Heart transplanted. It was one of the methods wizards used to cultivate servants.

However, it was an ancient, primitive method. After the Knight Breathing Technique appeared, this sorcery was gradually phased out. By the present age, it had completely lost its practical significance.

There were simply too many more efficient methods, and they could also guarantee the loyalty of the modified subjects.

But with Flesh Conversion, its significance changed once again.

Isaac could implant different hearts and limbs into magical creatures to strengthen them, then use Flesh Conversion to reproduce them!

In other words, he could become a rather unconventional summoner!

He just did not yet know how fast the casting was or how much mana it consumed...

With that thought, Isaac turned his gaze to the modified Demonic Rat. After lingering for a moment, he looked away. It was a fine subject, but these were currently his only two specimens, and he still needed them for observation. Besides, the surgical process could use further optimization. There was no rush.

The Biological Template for Flesh Conversion required him to swallow a sample whole. He would consider it once the technique was more mature.

With a thought, the vicious Demon Claw moved before Isaac. Its grotesque hand curled slightly, then opened. Three books bound in black covers appeared in its palm. Isaac took one down with great interest and opened it.

Just as he had expected, it was completely blank.

Once all three books were filled with content and the Mana Fluctuation Period had completely ended, he could begin preparing to advance to Archmage.

Unlike the Primal Witch and the Wise Arcanist, Legendary Wizards relied neither on bloodlines nor meditation for cultivation. They relied on faith!

Legendary Wizards had only one way to increase their mana—absorbing the Power of Faith!

However, unlike gods, the Power of Faith drawn upon by Legendary Wizards was special. The Power of Faith they required mainly came from awareness. Whenever people learned of an event or a story, they generated this unique Power of Faith, which Legendary Wizards could absorb.

Legendary Wizards had two ways to increase their mana. The first was becoming famous. As long as one's reputation was great enough and enough people knew them and their deeds, they could gain the Power of Faith. The second was spreading stories. As long as a story one wrote was widespread enough, it could also generate the Power of Faith.

Moreover, while obtaining the Power of Faith through these two methods, one could also condense relatively unique Innate Sorcery based on the content of the stories.

Once a Legendary Wizard gained three Innate Sorcery and the Mana Fluctuation Period ended, they could begin arranging the ritual to advance to Archmage.

Beyond these two methods, Legendary Wizards had a third way to obtain powerful Innate Sorcery—rituals!

Or rather, games of chance!

Legendary Wizards could communicate and trade with Entities Beyond the World through rituals, obtaining specific and powerful Innate Sorcery!

Of course, that was the ideal scenario.

Under normal circumstances, both Legendary Wizards and Entities Beyond the World were exceedingly greedy. Each side wanted to devour the other completely without paying any price themselves!

Thus, in most cases, a ritual itself was a contest between both sides. The winner took all.

The ritual Isaac performed when advancing to a Formal Wizard had been the same. Otherwise, how could he have made so many mistakes during it?

Hadn't that Demon on the other side guided him into them?

This method was extremely dangerous, and it could only grant sorcery; it could not increase mana.

Even so, many extraordinarily gifted Legendary Wizards repeatedly "traded" with Entities Beyond the World this way, because the power they plundered truly was formidable.

Aside from these three methods, Legendary Wizards could also study spells like Arcanists, but they could not increase their Mental Power or mana in the process.

The three methods were not mutually exclusive. They could be used simultaneously or individually, though the vast majority of Legendary Wizards chose the first two and cultivated with a one-to-two ratio.

This was because the mana brought by the first method, [Self Legend], was refined enough to be easily controlled, though its drawback was its limited quantity. The mana brought by the second method, [Fantasy Legend], was more abundant and inexhaustible, though it was difficult to control. This ratio balanced out their respective weaknesses.

As for the third method, only a few madmen chose it. Yet a one-to-one-to-one ratio was also recognized as the path to the strongest Legendary Wizard!

Naturally, it also had the highest mortality rate!

Isaac gently stroked the black cover and smiled confidently. Naturally, he would choose the strongest path. With the Golden Finger in hand, there was no way he could lose in a contest!

But before that...

Isaac took a Spellbook to the desk and sat down. He spread it open on the table, picked up the quill beside it, dipped it in ink, and began writing a story.

Well, more accurately, copying one.

Stories capable of producing [Fantasy Legend] did not necessarily have to be original creations. As long as the story had not been bound by another Legendary Wizard, it would suffice. Thus, famous writers often disappeared in this world.

Nine times out of ten, those writers had been abducted by Legendary Wizards, locked in dark little rooms, and forced to update their works day and night...

Isaac did not need to go through such trouble. He could copy stories from his previous life!

With so many classic masterpieces from his previous life, would he not be unstoppable if he picked any one of them?

For example, the story he was currently copying was the timeless classic fairy tale from his previous life—Cinderella!

He had chosen this story after careful consideration. After all, these were two different worlds, and many things differed. He could not blindly transplant stories; they had to suit the social circumstances.

First, the plot of an overbearing prince falling in love with me had been popular throughout ancient and modern times in his previous life, both at home and abroad. The only difference was that princes had become Dominant CEOs, while fairies had become Rich Women. He believed this world would be no exception.

Furthermore, the moral of this fairy tale was simple and did not carry political undertones.

Lastly, it contained magical elements. Whether it was the power of wishes or the power of transformation, both were highly practical forms of magic and worth looking forward to.

Isaac leaned over the desk and copied diligently. He had long since recalled the plot of Cinderella and had even had someone polish the prose. Now, he only needed to copy it into the Spellbook.

Before long, Isaac had written it all down. After checking it for a moment and seeing that the words had not vanished, a smile slowly appeared on his face. It had worked. Now, all he needed to do was wait for the story to spread.

For Isaac, who came from nobility, this was hardly a problem. Though his family had already divided, there were no significant conflicts of interest, and the separation had not been so complete. Spreading a story throughout the territory was a very simple matter.