Chapter 22
"Finally, there's only one Kindling Tome left."
Li Mu controlled the Origin HuoZhong to envelop the Kindling Tome.
Now that he had completely absorbed the Hogwarts All Magic Collection, he could confidently say that, in terms of Magical Theory and the number of spells he had mastered, no one had ever surpassed him, and no one ever would. No one could outdo him when it came to magic.
After all, under normal circumstances, it would take hundreds of years to learn everything recorded in Hogwarts' books.
A genius like Dumbledore or Voldemort might be able to finish in a century or so.
But there was no way they could spend a hundred years doing nothing but studying every book at Hogwarts.
So even they could only gain a general understanding of different branches of Magic Knowledge, then devote their limited time to mastering the fields they were best at. Naturally, they couldn't compare with him when it came to magic.
His Transcendence Level hadn't increased much, but his Wizard Bloodline had already reached LV5.
At that level, a Wizard Bloodline could bring someone close to the standard of a Hogwarts professor.
Along with a significant increase in his Magic Power, his Wizard Bloodline LV5 had strengthened several spells he knew. These included Healing Spells, Flame Spells, and, most noticeably, Apparition. Their power had increased because Phoenixes in this world were naturally adept at them.
As his Wizard Bloodline grew stronger, he began to inherit some of the Phoenix's power.
These were undoubtedly good things, but there were drawbacks too.
At first, learning all kinds of Magic Knowledge, casting all sorts of spells, and constantly using the Magic Power produced by his Wizard Bloodline had all stimulated its growth. But the further he advanced, the less effective that stimulation became.
Based on his current analysis, there were three ways to continue strengthening his Wizard Bloodline.
The first was to expend HuoZhong Source Power; the second was to build it up over a long period.
He didn't want either of those, leaving only the third option.
You are what you eat. His Wizard Bloodline came from a Phoenix, so he could capture one and drain its blood, continuously merging more Phoenix Bloodline into his own. He could even have his Professional HuoZhong devour a Phoenix outright. That way, raising his Wizard Bloodline to LV9 wouldn't be a problem.
The only Phoenix known to exist in the Wizarding World was Dumbledore's pet, Phoenix Fawkes.
His Wizard Bloodline had come from Fawkes in particular, making him the ideal Phoenix to merge with his Professional HuoZhong.
But to get Fawkes, he would first have to get past Dumbledore.
With Snape as an inside man, and given how much stronger he was now, dealing with Dumbledore wasn't impossible. Still, to be safe, he'd be better off acquiring more HuoZhong Source Power first. That would make confronting Dumbledore a surer thing.
There were no Dementors left in the wild, aside from perhaps a few survivors lurking in dark corners.
So he needed to choose a new target. There were quite a few Alien Races in this world.
Werewolves, Goblins, House-elves, Trolls, Giants, dragons, Centaurs, and many other races could all be considered Alien Races. Werewolves, having originated from humans, had even made their way into the community of human Wizards. Strictly speaking, though, Werewolves and humans were no longer the same species.
Li Mu ruled out the Werewolves first. It would be better to bring them under his control than to wipe them out.
At least they were intelligent, and, in the end, they had come from humans. There was no need to slaughter them all.
House-elves were few in number, and all served old Wizarding families.
And Goblins were even less of an option. Almost all of them were at Gringotts.
"So the best option left is the Giants, driven out after going to war with human Wizards."
Having made up his mind, Li Mu sent an owl to Hogwarts.
By evening, Snape finally arrived at the Brown Hotel.
"You've done well lately. I'm going to bring Lily back to life."
Li Mu poured Snape a glass of red wine and handed it to him.
Snape took the wine, overcome with excitement. Wasn't this exactly why he'd followed Li Mu's orders all these days?
"There's a price to using the Resurrection Ring."
Li Mu took off the ring and sighed. "To bring someone back to life, another life has to be taken. I know you wouldn't want to sacrifice a human, and Lily wouldn't forgive you if you did. So I'm going to take some Giants' lives to bring her back."
Snape had been terribly tense at first, but relaxed when he heard the rest.
He enjoyed studying Dark Magic, but he didn't like killing people.
But if it was Giants, then compared to Lily, it was no problem at all.
Li Mu reached out with both hands, gripping Snape's shoulder with his left and the Werewolf Wizard's with his right. In an instant, he Apparated away with them. After several more Apparitions, he had taken them out of Britain, across the sea, and into a remote mountain forest in France.
When the last Apparition ended, Snape stared at Li Mu in disbelief.
He had felt nothing but awe toward Li Mu, not fear.
In his eyes, Li Mu had merely mastered some mysterious power that let him wield the Resurrection Stone's true power. If not for the Werewolf Wizard beside Li Mu, who was extraordinarily skilled with the Illusionary Body Curse, Li Mu would never have been able to kill him, bring him back, and control his life and death.
But it hadn't even been half a month since Li Mu had acquired the Wizard Potion and Phoenix Bloodline.
In that short time, mastering a few basic spells would have been impressive. Even a first-generation Pureblood Wizard, born with powerful Magic Power, would be remarkable if he could master a few powerful spells tied to his bloodline. Phoenixes were good at Apparition, sure, but that didn't mean he could Apparate with two people in tow.
There was only one explanation: Li Mu was a genius beyond anything Snape could imagine.
But Snape soon realized that Li Mu was more than just a genius.
Li Mu flicked his wand and cast a Polymorph Spell using the advanced technique of Silent Spellcasting. One by one, the leaves on a nearby tree turned into birds. They took to the air and scattered in every direction to scout the area.
Snape was dumbstruck. Turning leaves into birds wasn't difficult. The hard part was that there were thousands of leaves.
But these birds made from leaves had no life. How could they be used to search the area?
Ordinary Wizards' birds created with a Polymorph Spell had no intelligence.
But after spending these days studying magic in depth and converting Spark Energy into Magic Power, Li Mu had gradually discovered that Spark Energy could do more than pass through a Mind Wizard's HuoZhong and become Magic Power. It could also fuse directly with Magic Power to form HuoZhong Magic Power.
Compared to ordinary Magic Power, HuoZhong Magic Power had two distinct advantages.
First, Flame Spells were easier to control. Second, when using a Polymorph Spell with HuoZhong Magic Power, the transformed life-form looked more real. It could even possess a faint spark of life for a short time, and his consciousness could attach itself to it through Spark Energy.
Spark Energy itself was a wondrous force capable of giving life to all things.
So it wasn't surprising that he could do this. Li Mu even suspected that one day he might be able to create real life.
With thousands of eyes scouting the area, the surrounding mountains and forests soon came into view in their entirety.
### Thanks to [Bookworm of Three Thousand Worlds], [Refiner of the Heart in the Mortal World], [Ordinary People, Ordinary Affairs 6], and [Zhang Yake] for the rewards of 100 each. Thanks to [Wuliang Xuanyuan Zhigao Zhisheng Wushang Daozun] for the 1,000 reward, [Houhui Xiang Zai Lai Yi Ci] for the 500 reward, and [Bookworm of Three Thousand Worlds] for the 1,500 reward.
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