Mage Ranks

The Ancient One didn't elaborate on the matter of responsibility.

Instead, she began to discuss more profound magic.

Projection magic, space magic, and alchemy.

"Once the spirit leaves the body, it cannot exist for long, but if it is sustained by dimensional energy, the spirit's independent existence can be prolonged. The higher the spiritual realm, the more energy one can control, and the longer the spirit can be sustained..."

The Ancient One opened a space portal, and the two left the library, arriving on a high mountain.

"This is Mount Kunlun. You are named after this mountain; perhaps you will like it here..." The Ancient One looked at the vast land before them and said, "The broader the vision, the broader the mind. If you want to go further in magic, you must learn to stand taller."

Bai Jing nodded, gazing at the vast, rolling mountains below.

The sky is vast, the wilderness boundless, and the wind blows over the grassland, revealing cattle and sheep.

With a thought, both of them entered a state of astral projection.

"Faster than sound is light, and faster than light is your thought. Therefore, in a spiritual state, you will find that time is merely a relative concept!" The Ancient One waved her hand gently, and the world before them suddenly transformed into a dreamlike realm filled with endless clusters of light. Golden orbs of light drifted in the air, as if the entire world had been given a bokeh effect.

This was the phenomenon formed by photons in the air condensing into clusters and floating when time was nearly at a standstill.

"Therefore, within such a limited time, our thoughts can travel to infinitely vast worlds!" The Ancient One gently pushed Bai Jing. Bai Jing felt his body lighten, and then he seemed to break free from the earth's bonds, instantly arriving in outer space.

Behind him was boundless darkness, dotted with specks of starlight.

Before him was a vast, azure planet.

"Let's go back!" The Ancient One suddenly reappeared beside Bai Jing. Seeing Bai Jing's somewhat dazed gaze, she simply smiled and gave him another gentle push!

Bai Jing felt his body sink again. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back on Mount Kunlun.

"This is projection magic. For places you've never been before, you can use your spirit to scout them out first, and then open a space portal to travel there in person!" the Ancient One said. "This is the most basic application. Once you are proficient, there will be infinite, incredible uses, which you will then develop yourself!"

Bai Jing nodded blankly. He had just seen the entire Earth and was still reeling from the experience.

"Next is space magic!" The Ancient One beckoned, and the air in front of them instantly transformed into a shattered world resembling an infinite mosaic of glass.

"Follow me!" The Ancient One walked ahead and stepped directly into that world.

Bai Jing felt it and realized it seemed to be a dimensional entrance.

"This is the mirror dimension. Every universe has its mirror dimension. With your mental strength, you should be able to sense it now, and then you can enter it yourself!" Inside the mirror was another Mount Kunlun.

"The laws in this world are exactly the same as those in the real world, but whatever you do in this world will not affect the real world!" the Ancient One said. "Space magic is a dangerous magic. As a precaution, you must cultivate in this world. Furthermore, this dimension is easy to enter but difficult to leave; you can only exit through a teleportation portal, so remember to bring your Sling Ring when you enter!"

Bai Jing nodded. He felt that this world seemed very suitable for conducting experiments!

Since it replicated everything on Earth, he wouldn't even need to buy experimental equipment. He could just use whoever's he found! Speaking of which, wasn't Banner struggling to find an experimental base? Maybe he could put him in the mirror dimension to conduct experiments?

"Space is the existence upon which our world depends. At your current level, you are still a little short, but after meditating for a few more years, you will be able to perceive its existence. Then, by using dimensional energy, you can distort, move, and sever it!"

Although Bai Jing had extraordinary talent, he was still far behind an old mage like the Ancient One. As for Kaecilius, who also knew space magic, he had a powerful backer. Dormammu was a being of both matter and spirit.

"But you must be aware that space is the foundation of reality. Reality is a delicate structure. If too much is destroyed, it will cause spatial rifts and temporal fractures. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, do not overuse space magic!"

Bai Jing continued to nod, feeling like a mindless nodding machine at this moment.

"But since it's something that takes many years of meditation to master, why are you teaching it to me so quickly?" Bai Jing asked.

"Different people require different teaching methods!" the Ancient One smiled. "I believe that as long as I point you in the right direction, you can walk the rest of the path yourself!"

Bai Jing fell silent. It was true that he was quite suited for self-study.

"Finally, alchemy!" The Ancient One picked up a stone from the ground and said, "Human strength is limited, and some magic is too dangerous and requires immense energy that the human body cannot withstand. Therefore, ancient mages devised a method for objects to bear magic. This method is alchemy!"

As she spoke, a fiery red light flashed in her hand. Then, the edges of the irregular gray stone were gradually smoothed away, eventually transforming into a round stone with golden patterns etched on its surface. Well, it was still a stone.

"I have imprinted a tracking array onto this stone. As long as you lock onto a target and throw it, it will automatically seek out the target you've locked onto. However, this stone is just an ordinary stone and cannot withstand too much power. It can be used at most three times, and each flight distance cannot exceed 15 kilometers. Because I didn't project any intent into it, this stone does not possess a soul."

Bai Jing was speechless. Being able to casually create a stone that could be thrown 15 kilometers and would always hit its mark, three uses was already quite a lot!

If you thought the stone was ordinary, what if it were replaced with a nuclear bomb?

"This spell requires a higher realm and more dimensional energy. Currently, no one in all of Kamar-Taj has met the conditions to learn it!" The Ancient One looked at Bai Jing. "But you can in the future!"

With Bai Jing's upgrade speed and the strengthening of his spirit by the black hole, he might be able to create magic artifacts himself before long.

Bai Jing understood. From these few spells, Bai Jing could roughly discern the ranking system of these mages.

Apprentice Mage: Can sense dimensional energy and learn to construct shields and whips with dimensional energy.

Initiate Mage: Can use a Sling Ring and open teleportation portals.

Junior Mage: Can strengthen the spirit with dimensional energy, allowing for astral projection at any time and place, and learn projection magic.

Intermediate Mage: Can sense the mirror dimension and thus practice more advanced incantations within the mirror dimension.

Senior Mage: Can sense space and thus use space magic.

Great Mage: Has a higher spiritual realm, can mobilize a larger amount of energy at once, and thus can create magic artifacts, those with souls.

Above that, Sorcerer Supreme: Draws power from the Dark Dimension, can use super-large-scale space magic in the real or mirror dimension, and can achieve longevity by utilizing the power of the Dark Dimension.

As for time magic, it probably doesn't fall into this classification, as time magic is tied to the Time Stone. Whether it can be learned depends entirely on one's compatibility with the Time Stone.

In this regard, Bai Jing, who had been learning spells for two and a half days, should already be an Initiate Mage, on the verge of becoming a Junior Mage!

Hmm, although the above levels don't actually exist, there are no so-called mage ranks in Kamar-Taj.

There are still 2 more chapters later.