The Heart of the Strong

"How is this possible?"

Linley was an Earth Magic mage himself and could currently cast Gravity Spell, but this gravity was the exact opposite of what he had learned.

Grandpa Doering hadn't taught him this either!

Had he forgotten?

Doering saw the confusion in Linley's eyes. "This must have been deduced by a mage who came after my time. To be able to achieve this level shows that this mage had a profound understanding of magical theory. I wonder which historical figure it was."

"A Gravity Spell with an inverted effect—interesting. This magic isn't very friendly to Bebe."

At this moment, whenever Bebe stopped moving, its entire little body would float in the air.

It knew this, so it kept charging back and forth without stopping.

Jonathan donned his jade-like Earth Guardian Holy Armor, then moved his body, suddenly appearing in the path of Bebe's charge and blocking it head-on.

Because of the force of Bebe's impact, cracks began to appear on the Earth Guardian Holy Armor; if it took one or two more hits, it would surely shatter completely.

Sent flying, Bebe had nowhere to exert force and found itself floating in mid-air.

Below the Saint-level, one could not fight in the air without the ability to borrow the power of the world.

This applied to both humans and magical beasts.

The only exceptions were wind-style mages above the seventh rank and flying-type magical beasts.

Bebe glared at Jonathan with its little eyes, squeaking incessantly.

"Not convinced? A loss is a loss. That last strike showed that your entire body is harder than I imagined, but if my strength were enough to break through your fur's defense, you likely wouldn't have had a chance to survive."

Linley stepped forward and said, "Bebe has lost. Please, withdraw the magic formation."

Jonathan smiled slightly and did as requested.

After landing, Bebe scurried onto Linley's shoulder, leaving only its head exposed.

Listening to it squeak non-stop, Linley sent a telepathic message: "Alright, stop fussing. He is a seventh-rank mage and a seventh-rank warrior after all; he has absolutely no weaknesses. You haven't become a seventh-rank magical beast yet. Once you do, he might not be your match."

"That's for sure."

Bebe quieted down instantly.

Then, Linley looked at Jonathan and smiled slightly. "Seeing the battle just now, you are also an Earth Magic mage, but your Gravity Spell seems quite different from what I learned."

"I call this the Anti-Gravity Spell. It's something I improved myself. In my spare time, I study magical theory and the arrangement of elements when magic is formed. I can't speak for other spells, but the Gravity Spell is quite interesting. Once the combination changes, it produces this effect."

"Improving this spell must have taken a great deal of effort on your part?"

"A little, but it's alright."

Linley was very interested in the Anti-Gravity Spell; his eyes sparkled, and he wanted to learn it, but he felt too embarrassed to ask.

Jonathan smiled and said, "However, unless one has a deep study of elemental arrangements and the like, this magic is not easy to learn."

Linley was slightly stunned. He felt as if the other party had seen right through him, and he suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

"Everyone has their own path. There is no need to envy others. As long as you keep moving forward toward your goal, you will eventually become a powerhouse."

Linley's eyes lit up. He immediately thought of the Blue Heart Grass. Once his strength was sufficient to venture deep into the Mist Valley to pick the Blue Heart Grass, he would be able to awaken his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline. After transforming, his strength as a warrior would skyrocket.

Even if his true strength didn't match Jonathan's now, he wouldn't necessarily be weaker after transforming.

As for magic, as long as he persevered and continued using the carving method to train his spiritual energy, his progress wouldn't be slow either. Perhaps he wouldn't catch up in two years, but in a few years...

At this moment, it was as if Linley had been enlightened. He suddenly had a clear goal, his blood boiled, and he was full of drive.

Doering, standing to the side, glanced at Jonathan with some doubt in his eyes, but seeing Linley's state, he couldn't help but stroke his white beard and nod in satisfaction.

"Thank you," Linley said, cupping his hands with a very sincere tone.

"It's nothing. You are about to leave the Magical Beast Mountain Range, right? Then let us part ways here. I still need to go deeper to hunt a few seventh-rank magical beasts."

Linley asked, "You still haven't told me where you are from?"

Jonathan's figure was already moving away, leaving behind only a puzzling remark.

"You will know. When the time comes, you will know where I am from."

The echo lingered, but the figure had long since vanished.

"Grandpa Doering, where do you think he is actually from? He's so mysterious, and what he said was so cryptic."

Doering said, "He is outstanding—more outstanding than any young genius I have ever seen. At such a young age, he already possesses the heart of a powerhouse."

"Linley, compared to him, you are still quite a bit behind."

"There is always someone better, and there is always a heaven beyond our heaven. You must work even harder."

"However, I believe that under my guidance, catching up to and surpassing him in the future will not be a problem."

Linley gave a wry smile. "Grandpa Doering, are you complimenting me or yourself?"

Bebe thought Linley was feeling inferior and couldn't help but say, "Boss, don't be sad. In my heart, Boss is the most amazing."

Linley tapped Bebe's little head with his finger. "What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I be sad?"

"Are you full? It's time for us to get on our way."

"I just finished a fight and used up a lot of energy, I need to go eat a few more pieces."

Linley smiled slightly, "Go ahead then."

"Understood!"

The encounter with Linley was just a small interlude; after parting ways, he headed deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

In less than half a day, he encountered a Green-Striped Giant Python that had been coiled around an ancient tree, using the white mist to blur his vision. It lunged out suddenly upon detecting Jonathan, giving even him a fright, and he only managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth.

"I really must be more careful."

Jonathan stepped onto the trunk of a giant tree and, using the recoil, drew his dagger while quickly casting a seventh-rank Gravity Spell.

The Green-Striped Giant Python was a seventh-rank water-type magical beast, twenty to thirty meters long with a body as thick as a water vat; after being hit by the gravity spell, its entire body plummeted toward the ground.

Jonathan seized this opportunity, unleashing his battle qi to its full extent. Utilizing the gravity and the momentum of his downward charge, the one-meter-long black blade struck with peerless sharpness, cleanly severing the beast's head.

The cut was smooth and neat, without even a single drop of blood splashing out.

This was the pinnacle of the Saber's assassination techniques.

After extracting the magic core, Jonathan departed in an instant, though his speed was much slower than before.

Only a few miles later, he encountered a Gold-Striped Leopard, whose speed and agility were comparable to an eighth-rank peak warrior. It was only thanks to him casting a layer of "Jade" Earth Guardian Holy Armor on himself in time that he remained uninjured.

The Gold-Striped Leopard clung to Jonathan like it was biting onto its prey, refusing to let go.

To him, this type of agile magical beast was the most troublesome. He hadn't wanted to waste time on it, but since it was courting death, Jonathan turned around and began to deal with it with his full strength.

Shadow Poison Mist spread out, and a seventh-rank Gravity Spell descended, causing the Gold-Striped Leopard's body to sink as its speed dropped sharply.

Relying on the Anti-Gravity Spell he had cast on himself to mitigate the effects of gravity while moving, Jonathan completely reversed their situations in a mere instant.

The Gold-Striped Leopard wanted to leave, but Jonathan wouldn't give it the chance, using his rapid movement to keep it trapped within the range of his gravity spell.

Furthermore, the encroaching poison mist obscured its vision.

It could only rely on sound and instinct to dodge.

Jonathan's assassination skills were pushed to their limit, and after half an incense stick's worth of time, he finally finished off this seventh-rank peak magical beast.

I'm getting recommended next week, but the stats are still very poor, with fewer than two hundred active readers. To reach the second round, I need at least five hundred to be safe. I beg those who are following to keep reading, and please don't let the book sit in your library—if you do, you might find it gone in a few weeks.

I imagine many of you present have encountered similar situations.

Therefore, whether this book lives or dies depends entirely on all of you!

Once it goes live, a massive stockpile of chapters will be waving at you!