Sixth-Rank Mage (Part One)

"These are—these are stone sculptures! So many stone sculptures!"

Linley's throat had gone dry.

His standards were high now, and he could immediately tell what made these sculptures special. They were nothing like the style he pursued. These sculptures seemed to resemble the wind—yes, they were sculptures that felt like the wind.

It was amazing.

He had always thought Earth-style mages had the easiest time sculpting stone. They could sense the arrangement within the stone and find suitable patterns, allowing them to create sculptures that were exquisite and perfect.

So, deep down, he had always assumed that if stone sculpture had different styles based on elemental affinities, it would belong to the Earth element.

But why did these sculptures evoke the wind? It was completely different, and he couldn't understand it.

What was more, each sculpture carried a different sensation of wind: a breeze, a hot wind, a gale, a hurricane, and so on. It was the wind that gave these sculptures their unique charm.

Wind was formless, yet it had form.

For a while, Linley gazed at the sculptures, entranced. It was as though the wind was howling all around him, each gust carrying a different feeling.

So this was wind.

It felt completely different from the Earth element.

Linley's talent for the Wind element was also exceptional, but because of Doehring Cowart, his studies had always leaned slightly toward Earth magic.

Now, his talent for Wind magic was fully on display.

Even Fang Yun, who had only happened to merge with the wind, hadn't managed to make a breakthrough. But Linley had entered a special state just by looking at the sculptures. That was talent.

Doehring Cowart clearly noticed something unusual about Linley and couldn't help feeling moved. Linley's talent was simply too good.

Beibei also noticed Linley's condition and carefully stood guard beside him. It would be a problem if anything dangerous happened. As for the sculptures, Beibei felt nothing at all.

Linley soon came out of that special state, his face alight with delight. His spiritual force had reached the level of a sixth-rank mage!

"Grandpa Doehring, my spiritual force has reached the level of a sixth-rank mage!"

Linley couldn't help sharing the news with Doehring Cowart.

He had only recently become a fifth-rank mage, and already his spiritual force had reached the level of a sixth-rank mage! All he had to do now was build up his magical power, and he would truly be a sixth-rank mage!

He had caught up with Dixie!

"What?!"

Doehring Cowart's eyes widened. "Your spiritual force has reached the sixth rank?!"

"Yes."

Linley nodded firmly. Even he hadn't expected that seeing these unusual sculptures would suddenly bring him to a breakthrough.

He had always been highly talented. Although his studies had focused on Earth magic, he hadn't neglected Wind magic. He had also spent six years diligently learning stone sculpture in the Flat Blade Style and had developed a deep understanding of it.

But he had never considered the connection between stone sculpture and Wind magic. Seeing Fang Yun's work had sent him straight into a state of enlightenment. This was his own fortuitous encounter.

Doehring Cowart fell silent too, at a loss for words.

Still, these sculptures really were unusual.

"Linley, this may be where the people we saw earlier came from."

Doehring Cowart changed the subject. Now wasn't the time to celebrate Linley's advancement to sixth-rank mage. A valley like this appearing in the Magical Beast Mountain Range was certainly no ordinary thing.

The valley's owner was likely a powerful expert.

As for a magical beast, that was impossible. No magical beast knew how to sculpt.

Linley came back to himself and looked at the sculptures. Any one of them was probably worth a million gold coins. No wonder that fellow had killed to keep the secret. This really was a tremendous fortune.

"Chirp!"

Just then, Beibei suddenly cried out twice. "Boss, a magical beast is flying over from far away!"

Beibei's voice was full of panic.

A magical beast was flying over?

If it was a flying-type magical beast, that would be fine. But if it wasn't, it could only be a Saint-level magical beast!

They would be doomed if they faced one.

Even Beibei, who considered himself quite strong, wasn't arrogant enough to think he could match a Saint-level magical beast.

"What?!"

Linley was startled and looked toward the horizon.

"Oh no, it's a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Rex!"

Doehring Cowart hurriedly returned to the Coiling Dragon Ring. He could easily be exposed in front of a Saint-level expert. "Linley, run!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex was an extremely powerful magical beast. Even at the height of his power, Doehring Cowart would have found it difficult to subdue a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Linley was about to flee, but the Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Rex had already flown down.

Two men, each over two meters tall, jumped off its back.

"Linley?"

Just as cold sweat appeared on Linley's forehead, one of the men spotted him and looked surprised.

The two men were no strangers to Linley.

After all, when Fang Yun had watched the Grade Tournament at the Ernst Institute, he had paid the most attention to Linley. Naturally, the two brothers had focused on Linley as well.

Over the past six years, Fang Yun had been sculpting, while the brothers had occasionally traveled back and forth to Fenlai City to buy supplies. They had naturally seen Linley there.

If their lord cared about someone, the two brothers cared about him too.

"Uh..."

Hearing one of them call him by name, Linley froze.

These were powerful men riding a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Rex, and they might well be Saint-level experts themselves. A Saint-level expert knew who he was? Even Linley found it hard to believe.

"What brought you here?"

Doham walked over. Seeing how nervous Linley was, he quickly guessed the reason and smiled. "Don't worry. Prequet won't do anything to you."

"Hmph."

Prequet snorted, shrank down a little, then flew toward the depths of the valley.

Seeing Prequet shrink, Linley was even more shocked. Only Saint-level magical beasts could freely change their size. He hadn't expected there to be a Saint-level magical beast even on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

As expected, the Magical Beast Mountain Range deserved its reputation as one of the Yulan Continent's three great perilous regions.

"Don't mind it. That's just how he is. He doesn't like interacting with humans."

Doham smiled.

He was in a great mood after getting the Tiger-striped Secret Manual.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Doham, and this is my younger brother, Dohar. We watched your competition at the Ernst Institute."

Doham smiled as he spoke. "You were impressive."

Only then did Linley understand. They had seen him compete.

Linley suppressed his shock and cautiously bowed. "Mr. Doham, Mr. Dohar, I'm Linley Baruch. I'm very sorry for barging in here."

Clearly, Linley assumed the valley belonged to the two men.

"Baruch?"

Doham and Dohar both froze and exchanged a glance.

Although they had watched Linley compete six years ago and remembered him somewhat, they had never known his full name was Linley Baruch.

As descendants of one of the Four Ultimate Warriors, they were naturally familiar with the name Baruch.

It was possible for different families to share a surname, but the odds were very small. That was especially true of Ultimate Warrior clans, whose surnames were practically unique.

"You're a descendant of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan?"

Doham couldn't help asking outright, his voice carrying a hint of emotion.

At the words "Dragonblood Warrior," Linley's gaze sharpened. But then he remembered that the Dragonblood Warriors had once been a legend on the continent and were no secret to powerful experts.

He nodded. "Yes, but I'm not a Dragonblood Warrior."

Linley regretted that his bloodline concentration wasn't high enough. Fortunately, his younger brother Wharton's bloodline was strong enough, and he had already gone to study in the O'Brien Empire.

In just a few decades, Wharton would become a Saint-level Dragonblood Warrior and restore the family's glory.

"Haha, so it really is true!"

The two Doham brothers were overjoyed to hear Linley confirm it. Looking at Linley's strong build, they could see that he was indeed living up to the bloodline of an Ultimate Warrior clan.

Even when their bloodline concentration wasn't high enough, members of Ultimate Warrior clans were still stronger than ordinary people.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves properly."

Doham's tone turned formal. "Doham Bolei."

"Dohar Bolei."

Dohar introduced himself as well.

"Bolei?"

Linley was shocked. His family records contained information about the other three Ultimate Warriors: the Tiger-striped Warrior Clan, the Bolei Clan; the Undying Warrior Family, the Armand clan; and the Purple Flame Warrior Clan, the Hyde clan!

"You..."

Linley's eyes flickered with emotion.

"That's right. We're descendants of the Tiger-striped Warrior Clan."

Doham laughed heartily, and the way he looked at Linley changed. "I never would have guessed that you were a descendant of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan."

Once they learned about each other's families, the conversation between the Doham brothers and Linley became more cordial.

Before long, the brothers learned how Linley had come to the valley.

"We didn't sculpt these. We don't have that kind of skill."

Seeing Linley praise them for the sculptures, Doham smiled and explained, "They were all sculpted by our lord."

"Your lord?"

Linley was taken aback.

He had assumed the two brothers were Saint-level experts.

"Haha, I mean Lord Fang Yun, the Saint-level expert."

Doham smiled. "Every sculpture in this valley was made by Lord Fang Yun."

"Lord Fang Yun!"

Linley's heart gave a jolt.

He had remembered that name for a long time. The first time he heard it, six years ago, it had stayed with him. This was an unrivaled expert who could fight four opponents at once, just like Grandpa Doehring.

"Lord Fang Yun is in the valley?"

Linley felt a little nervous.

"He may have gone out," Doham replied.

They were only Fang Yun's followers. When their lord left, they simply guarded the valley. At the very least, they couldn't let anyone damage their lord's work.

Linley's admiration for Fang Yun grew even greater. Fang Yun was someone he wanted to look up to in every respect.

There was no need to mention his strength. He was already among the continent's most powerful experts. And now, even his sculpting was so impressive.

Linley knew how difficult it was to sculpt a good stone carving, yet here they seemed to be everywhere.

He also felt that Lord Fang Yun's sculptures were unique, just like Grandpa Doehring's Pingdao School. It was very likely a style of Fang Yun's own.

In other words, Fang Yun was now someone Linley wanted to learn from and surpass in every way!

Linley stayed there for two days, but Fang Yun still hadn't returned. He then left to continue his adventures in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

But for him, this training had already far exceeded his expectations. After all, he had reached the sixth rank. Further adventures would simply give him more practical experience.

Once he had built up enough magical power and truly become a sixth-rank mage, he planned to return to the Ernst Institute. There, he could learn many sixth-rank spells, especially sixth-rank Wind spells.