Even after they had left the valley far behind, Linley still couldn't shake the shock of seeing the stone sculptures there. Although they had helped him break through to the sixth rank as a mage, he still had no idea how they had been carved.
That sensation of Wind was so unique.
"Grandpa Doehring, what technique was used to carve those sculptures?"
Linley asked.
Back in Stone Sculpture Valley, Doehring Cowart had barely spoken with Linley because of Prequet. After all, Saint-level experts could sense his presence.
For safety's sake, he had reduced his communication with Linley as well.
Of course, he was aware of what was happening outside. Over the past two days, most of his attention had been focused on the sculptures.
Although he didn't know how they had been carved, the smoothness of their lines bore a strong resemblance to the Flat Blade Style. It seemed they had all been carved with a single tool, but he was certain that tool wasn't a Flat Blade.
"Perhaps Fang Yun came up with the technique himself."
Doehring Cowart said plainly, "I can say for certain that no one carves like this on the Yulan Continent. But it's somewhat similar to the Flat Blade Style. You can tell from the lines that the sculptor never changed tools during the process."
Doehring Cowart was now filled with curiosity about Fang Yun. Someone else had managed to create a carving technique similar to the Flat Blade Style—and seemed to have studied it even more deeply than he had.
"I really want to meet Lord Fang Yun."
Linley sighed.
Beibei was perched on Linley's shoulder. Hearing him speak, he sent a voice transmission. "Then why don't we wait a little longer? We might get to meet this Saint-level expert."
Beibei was curious about Fang Yun too. He was very intelligent, and understood perfectly well what it meant for a Saint-level expert to fight four opponents at once.
Linley smiled and patted Beibei's little head. "As much as I want to meet Lord Fang Yun, nobody knows when he'll return. Rather than wait around, we should keep adventuring and improving our strength."
As he spoke, Linley looked into the distance. "Besides, since Lord Fang Yun carved so many sculptures in the valley, he'll surely come back eventually. We can return then if we get the chance."
Yulan Empire, Temple of Life.
After Dixie reached the sixth rank as a mage, Kawent brought him back to the Temple of Life.
"Teacher, I want to establish a magic institute."
Kawent spoke to the High Priest.
Ever since he had first thought of teaching magic to adults, the idea had refused to leave his mind.
He had even looked into it specifically and confirmed that there was no fixed age limit for learning magic.
It was simply that between the ages of six and twelve, a person's talent showed itself more clearly. If someone hadn't discovered their talent by then, they would gradually become little different from an ordinary person.
For example, having three times the spiritual force of one's peers counted as good talent—but the comparison was with one's peers. In other words, spiritual force increased with age.
Whether a person's spiritual force was high or low, if nothing external affected them, then by the time they reached a certain age, the gap between them wouldn't be as large as it had been at first.
So spiritual force wasn't an especially significant limitation for ordinary adults. As they grew, any healthy adult would generally develop enough spiritual force to become a low-rank or even mid-rank mage.
Even children could increase their spiritual force if they learned a method like meditation. Linley, for instance, had improved his spiritual force considerably by meditating under Doehring Cowart's guidance.
So although spiritual force was an important part of testing, Kawent felt that elemental affinity was what prevented most people from becoming mages.
Over the past few years, Kawent had seen the Radiant Church test people's talent many times.
Many of the children had insufficient spiritual force but just enough elemental affinity. In other words, as they grew older or learned a method of cultivating their spiritual force, they might still have a chance to become mages.
Of course, they might not achieve as much as those with greater talent.
After all, once cultivation began, the gap in talent was difficult to make up for.
But in Kawent's view, it was enough if these ordinary people could become mages at all.
"Establish a magic institute?"
The High Priest looked slightly surprised when she heard Kawent's words.
She knew Kawent had always been studying magic, but she hadn't expected him to come up with an idea like this.
Although he was a Saint-level expert, his skill as a mage had only just reached the seventh rank. He was barely qualified to teach magic. With his level of skill, he could never measure up to the other magic institutes.
Especially since the Yulan Empire already had a magic institute—one second only to Ernst Institute on the Yulan Continent. Establishing another magic institute would be almost pointless.
Even the High Priest couldn't see what Kawent hoped to accomplish by opening one.
"Teacher, I want to establish a magic institute that teaches adults."
Kawent's voice was gentle. He then explained his idea.
After hearing him out, the High Priest fell silent.
On the Yulan Continent—or, for that matter, in the entire Coiling Dragon World—the prevailing belief was that the strong preyed on the weak. No one went out of their way to create a special path for the weak. Her disciple certainly had an unusual way of thinking.
Kawent waited respectfully for the High Priest to speak.
The High Priest kept her eyes on Kawent. After a moment, she spoke in a tone that betrayed little emotion. "Teaching ordinary people magic won't accomplish much. It's almost impossible for them to become powerful."
In the High Priest's eyes—as in the eyes of any powerful person—teaching that couldn't produce strong experts was pointless.
Even if ordinary people could become third- or even fourth-rank mages, training as warriors would be more practical for them. And training as a warrior would be easier as well.
"Having a few low-rank mages is still worthwhile."
Kawent's voice remained calm.
The High Priest said nothing. Seeing that Kawent seemed determined, she spoke without any change in tone. "Then give it a try."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Kawent bowed respectfully.
"Where do you want to establish it?"
The High Priest looked at Kawent and asked.
She was fairly "indulgent" toward this disciple of hers from Blue Star. But his ideas really were different from those of most people.
Still, she didn't have much faith in a lot of things.
"Do you have any suggestions, Teacher?"
Kawent asked.
Although the High Priest was a God-level expert, she was also the founding emperor of the Yulan Empire.
"The Rhine Empire,"
the High Priest said casually. The Yulan Empire produced many mages, and children there generally had their talent tested. Kawent's idea would have little effect in the Yulan Empire.
The Rhine Empire bordered the Yulan Empire, making it a good choice.
Although the Rhine Empire was one of the four great empires, standing alongside the Yulan Empire, it wouldn't dare casually refuse anything the Temple of Life requested.
In a sense, the Rhine Empire and the Luo'ao Empire existed mainly because the High Priest and the War God wanted to maintain a balance of power. Otherwise, the two empires would have been annexed long ago.
Rhine Empire.
Dolan Prefecture City was a prefecture city near the Yulan Empire.
Kawent and a burly man with bulging muscles stood in front of a somewhat dilapidated courtyard.
It wasn't like an ordinary courtyard. The grounds were very spacious, and there were several multi-story buildings on either side. Some ordinary people even lived there.
"Lord Kawent, this is the former site of Duolin Institute. After Duolin Institute moved to another region, the place was left empty."
Keli spoke carefully.
As the lord of Dolan Prefecture City, he held considerable power. Even so, he was extremely respectful toward powerful experts, despite being a seventh-rank warrior himself.
After all, the old man before him was a genuine Saint-level expert.
Even in the Rhine Empire, Saint-level experts held the highest status. The royal family treated them with the utmost courtesy.
Especially since this Saint-level expert came from the Temple of Life!
That was where the God-level expert, the High Priest, resided. In the eyes of mages across the Yulan Continent, it was practically the Sacred Land.
"If you need it, Lord Kawent, I can help you acquire the rights to this entire property."
Keli added.
Kawent looked over the place and nodded with satisfaction. Then he said, "Then I'll trouble you, Lord Keli."
"It'll be no trouble at all."
Keli hurriedly replied. "It can be arranged in a few days."
Being able to build a connection with a Saint-level expert was a good thing for him too.
With Lord Keli's help, the former site of Duolin Institute was cleaned and renovated. A new sign was put up: Kawent Institute.
Before you continue